Nerima in the Dark Revised
by erickmenk
Summary: Ranma has a pet demon. Ryoga is a Wu. Akane is a hanyou. Ukyo is a demon hunter. And all of this before all of them even met.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a repost and rewrite of my previous story, "Nerima in the Dark", taking away most of the palagrism.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Sailormoon.

**CHAPTER I**

Ranma's grip on the arms of his seat tightened as the descending plane suddenly dropped into an air pocket. In his entire sixteen years, he hadn't flown quite enough to be able to take occasional turbulences in his stride. It's not like he is afraid of heights, he was quite accustomed to being in the air half his life. It's just that he doesn't trust technology that much.

Hoping that the airport was by now in sight, he turned to look out of the small window to his left. He was disappointed to see that clouds still obscured most of the ground, as it has for the past hour of flight.

In his mind, he sees Tokyo like it was when he first left for that training journey to China seven years ago years ago with his father, a giant city of concrete filled with sounds, lights, and people. Soon, he hoped, he'll get to see how closely it matched his expectations.

He glanced inconspicuously at the young twelve years old girl sleeping on the seat beside him with a little black piglet with a mark tattooed on its forehead and wearing a yellow-stripped bandanna on its neck sitting on her lap. When he saw Ryouga appeared wondering around the airport with his trusty backpack, he knew that he was trying to look for him, probably to challenge him once more since Ranma knew he had been finished with his last assignment a few days ago. So, to save him the trouble of trying to find his way to Japan, which could have took several months, he splashed him with cold water and brought him along with him and Naomi as her pet. He decides it would be more cost-effective, as well as a hell of a lot safer for him and the rest of the passengers if he is kept in his cursed formed during the trip. Besides, with Ryouga there, he knew he wouldn't be lacking in good sparring partners, as long as he doesn't get himself lost.

When he left for China years ago, he never thought that he'd be coming back until he finds a cure for his own curse. Like that of Ryouga, it's also water-based. He considers it a bit more durable than that of his directional-deficient friend since he still remains human during his transformation.

A sudden feeling of panic stabbed up from the pit of his stomach. He never thought he'd be going back here so soon. Even though he was born Japanese, he feels like a stranger in his own country. He could barely remember his time here, except for the times he and his father travel all over Japan learning one martial arts technique after another. So many things had happened to him in China, particularly this last couple of months that his old life seems like another lifetime to him, which isn't that far off from the truth.

He knows that there's nothing in this country that he have to go back to, but still, this country used to be his home, he can't help but give himself a big sigh.

"What was that for?" said a hot little voice beside him. When he turned to look, he saw the little eleven years old looking girl starring at him with one emerald green and one yellow slit eyes.

Looking at the slightly glowing pig, Ranma knew that Ryouga is using Naomi as a medium for him to speak his mind in his cursed form.

"Don't worry yourself, bacon-breathe. It doesn't concern you in anyway." He said with a light smirk.

"Is master unhappy? Is there anything Naomi can do for master?" She asked in a totally different demeanor, which is childlike and a bit ditz.

"No, Naomi. I was just thinking to myself. Try to get some more sleep and let Ryouga be in control for a while."

"Yes master." Naomi said evenly before closing her eyes. When she opened them once more, both her eyes are emerald green, signifying that Ryouga is now in control of Naomi's body. "Don't think you could brush me off as easy as your pet, Saotome." Ryouga said hotly in Naomi's voice.

"Do I really look that transparent?"

"Well, your face does have a tendency of showing exactly what you feel all the time. It's just your luck that I'll have to rearrange that face real soon." The big smirk on her face assured herself, or rather himself, that he knows more about him than he thinks. Several years of sparring with the guy does that to a person.

"Yeah, yeah. In your dreams, pork-chop. For someone who's hell bent of killing me for a few years, you sure are talkative today."

"Can it, Saotome. You know I can't do much more than talk while using her body this way. I'll just have to pound you later. Besides, I'm bored."

Ryouga is as feisty as the day he first met him several years ago at that all-boys school where they ended up as rivals for the last of the cafeteria bread fights. They were supposed to duel it out but Ryoga didn't show up and Ranma ended up being dragged by his pop to China after three days of waiting. Of course, Ryouga went after them. How both of them ended up being cursed is another story entirely.

Thinking it was all Ranma's fault, which partly it is, he had been trying to destroy him. And because of that, he also ended up being caught up in several of Ranma's misadventures, which mostly includes demons, Hong-Kong Triads, devil hunters, Amazons, exorcists, soul wells, and, surprisingly, Ralph Lauren designer clothes.

"So?" Ryouga asked a bit impatiently.

Ranma, after eyeing the piglet for a moment, sighed once more before saying, "Do you still remember what your house looks like?"

Ryouga, a bit taken back a bit by that unexpected question, thought for a moment before answering, "Yeah. But I've been gone so long it might not be what I remember when I get back. But what does that got to do with anything?"

"Nothing much. It's just that I have no recollection of what my house had looked like. I've been on the road as far back as I can remember that I can't even be sure if I ever lived in one. How much do you think it has changed since we were gone? At least you have your parents waiting for you when you get back. All I had was my pop and he's gone."

"So, you're saying that it makes you feel weird going back to Japan since, as you say, there's nothing there to go back to? I never knew you were such a sentimental thinker, Saotome. I guess even someone as crummy as you would think like that sometimes."

"Ha-ha, very funny, Hibiki. Anyway, that about sums it up. I mean, the last people I known there is my old pal Ucchan but we've been separated so long he might not remember me anymore. Pop said mom died when I was young and we don't have any relatives so I haven't got no family to return to."

"You'd be surprised how often I feel like that, Saotome. Even if I managed to find my house, I might not find my parents there. They've get lost as much as I do that the last time I was able to see both my parents was just before I came after you to China. Besides, I don't think my parents would be thrilled to find out what I've become."

"You might be surprised. Does both your parents have the curse of misdirection?"

"No, just my dad. But mom always let my dad lead the way. She says that the Hibiki Family curse isn't always a curse, but a mere handicap. And that this handicap is the foundation of the Hibiki School of Wanderer Martial Arts. Mom always says life with dad is just one great adventure after another."

"Traveling around the world, meeting new people, and the excitement of not knowing where you'll end up next. I mean, with all that and improving your skills, what's not to like? By the sounds of things, your parents seems quite happy with their lifestyle."

"Yes, they are. But still, I wouldn't mind being able to stick around one place long enough to be bored there before getting myself lost again and ending up somewhere else entirely."

"Listen, once I'm finished with my assignment, I'll take you back to your house, okay."

"I don't accept charity from anyone, Saotome! I'll find my own way home."

"Yeah, sure. And that coming from the mouth of a guy who gets lost inside a room with one door. Face it, it'll take you a hell of a lot easier if I lead you there. Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and catch your parents there."

"With my kind of luck, I doubt it." He sighed before going silent for a while, thinking of his rival's offer. "Fine. I'll hold you to your word. So anyway, what's your assignment this time? I thought you're finished with that kind of work?"

"I am. But I owe Mao Lin a huge favor and she asked me to get some sort of cursed object for her from one of her associates."

"So, you're just got to retrieve this object and ship it to her? Seems a bit simple to me. Doesn't sound like her at all."

"Don't let it fool you. Since when did Mao Lin ever gave us anything simple. Knowing her, I might have to retrieve it from the hands of the local mob there. Or better yet, it could be in the possession of a cult that is going to use it to revive some demon or something. Worse case scenario, another Necronomicon."

Both boys shivered at the last one. "Yeah, I guess you got a point."

"You got that right." He said with a small chuckle, which Ryouga mimicked seconds later, until they noticed what they've done and stopped instantly.

"Did we just do what I think we did?"

"You mean having to held a completely decent conversation?"

"Um, yeah. That was creepy"

"Lets not do that again."

"Ever."

"Agreed."

Mao Lin Shou is a 34 years old former priestess who ran away from her clan to start her own exorcism and cursed-artifacts retrieval business. Ranma and Ryouga met her two years ago. They went to her to see if she could remove their curse. But she ended up hiring them instead, on the spot (despite the fact that they weren't even applying for it) after they helped her when she screwed up in exorcising a demon-possessed client, who ate the last of her employees.

Mao Lin has the tendency to bite off more than she could chew, particularly in her exorcisms, usually forcing Ryouga or/and Ranma to clean up after her. She also got a thing for accepting retrieval jobs for them that always almost gets them killed. It was no wonder she was so desperate to hire anyone when they first met.

It was lucky for them both that their last job offered quite a sum of money so it would take a while before she starts hunting them both down to get them to work for her again. Of coarse, if both boys have anything to say about it, they'd file a restraining order against her for at least a hundred miles.

Beneath the last translucent layer of cloud, Ranma made out the long gray runway of Tokyo International Airport. It was surrounded at all sides by commercial and road structures broken up by occasional vacant lots, residential houses, and natural greenery, which he could easily see due to the full moon.

Ranma gave one last sigh before buckling his seatbelts when the stewardess asked them to do so prior to the plane's decent. Ryouga cut off his link to Naomi so she could buckle up herself.

"Well, here we are." Ranma said to himself as he looks down at the city below from the window of their hotel room. They checked into the west wing in the 25th floor of a rather nice hotel somewhere in the Shinjuku District of Tokyo. Ryouga, who was already in his human form, immediately went to sleep in one of the three bedrooms the moment they got into the room barely two hours ago while Naomi is curled up on the sofa staring at him.

"Is something wrong with master? Would master like Naomi to service him tonight? " Naomi asked rather innocently. "Maybe even punish Naomi for no reason?" She added expectantly.

"Thanks, Naomi, but no. And you are still not allowed to punish yourself without my permission." He replied calmly without even turning away from the view of the city outside.

Naomi pouted at her master's unwillingness to punish her or even have her service him intimately, like she was taught to do by her former master, who happens to be a greater demon, whose hobbies was to steal souls while providing the victims with fulfillment of their sexual fantasies. Ranma stumbled upon her when she and her former master tried to steal a certain demonic book he and Ryouga was transporting a year ago. Ranma managed to kill her master, severing the bond between it and Naomi.

He already knows that Naomi is part succubus, he just can't figure out what the other half is. She has the ability to morph into several different forms, either in humanoid, hybrid, and also demonic forms. She could also turn herself invisible, quite handy when he wants her spying on some people. And she is quite dependent on her master through a bond she now shares with the pigtailed boy. Without that bond, Naomi would have ceased to exist since she wouldn't have a master to keep her in this plane of existence.

Naomi morphed into a sultry twenty years old Asian woman wearing a long and incredibly revealing red gown that highlights her perfectly shaped body. "Are you sure master?" She asked in a very seductive voice (think of Hinako Minomiya in her adult form).

"Yes, Naomi. I'm sure. Now please return to your child form and get a little more sleep." Ranma sigh once more, while looking at his familiar morph back into a child and curled up on the sofa before falling asleep. He went back into looking out the window. He was really bored now. Whether its because he was too excited to sleep or he has an opposite reaction to jetlags, he isn't quite sure. All he knows is that he needed something to do. "I think I'll take a walk for a while." He said to himself before heading towards the door.

Fifteen minutes later, he found himself walking around the city. The streets were quiet except for several bars and strip joints in the area so he was having quite a peaceful walk, that is until he heard a small explosion a few blocks away. Having nothing else to do, he went to check it out.

"You are not going to get away this time you monster!" Sailor Venus shouted as she charged the cloaked figure with another flying kick. "Damn!" she cursed when it jumped up into the top of the wall on the small alley they were fighting at, avoiding her strike.

She jumped after it with several combinations of kicks and punches but it blocked them all effortlessly before it lashed out with a kick to her midsection, making her crash towards a pile of garbage nearby.

"Damn you, monster!"

"Will you quit bugging me you sailor brat! For the last time, I didn't ruin you're date!" Said a clearly feminine voice from inside the hood.

"Never! For what you did to me is a crime beyond forgiveness! VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN!" Golden chains made of light burst out from her finger and wrapped themselves around the so-called monster's body before she tugged on it using the other end, sending the other person crashing into the ground hard.

"THAT REALLY HURTS YOU BITCH!" The cloaked figure shouted while getting up, its eyes glowing with two yellow orbs. It then suddenly pulled on the chains, dragging Sailor Venus with it and sending her crashing on the opposite wall of the alley, denting it with several cracks.

It loosened the chains, allowing the cloaked person to free itself. It then wiped out a huge wooden black hammer oozing with demonic energy before charging the still dazed senshi. Venus saw the attack coming but she knows she wouldn't able to evade it. After almost two months of hunting this monster down, she would finally die by its hands. Closing her eyes, she prepared herself for the final blow that never came. When she opened her eyes once more, the figure was gone and she was alone in that alley. She cursed once more as she tries to pick herself off the ground. Once again, the youma had left her to live with the shame of having a demon take pity on her life. She'd taken down demons before but never that is as strong as this one.

"Sailor Venus, are you all right?" asked the voice from the com-link on her left ear.

"I'm okay, Artemis. But that youma got away again. Damn! I was so close."

"Maybe you should just let this one go. I mean, you've been trying to destroy her for the last several weeks and she keeps beating you every single time. Besides, you really need to improve your fighting ability. We've proved that this youma is skilled martial arts."

"Never! Do you hear me, Artemis? I shall not allow this monster to run loose in this city! It ruined my chance of true happiness! I shall destroy it or die trying!" she cried lifting her fist into the air in a very dramatic pose.

You could almost hear Artemis sweat-dropped from the other line. "Well, Minako, it was just a date, you know. You really need to think this through."

"What I need are more of me to take it out."

"Well, we could just wake the other senshi to help." Artemis whispered softly to himself. But Venus already heard him.

"Other senshi? What do you mean?"

"Well . . ." Artemis begun but was quickly cut-off by Venus.

"We'll talk about it when we I get back. I really need a bath right now!" She said before jumping away into the rooftops, never seeing the young pigtailed boy hiding behind a dumpster nearby who saw the whole thing.

"That was too close for comfort." Said the cloaked figure to itself as it steps out of its hiding place behind a dumpster before pulling down her hood, revealing strands of short bluish-black hair and brown hazel eyes.

"Are you talking about her almost beating you or you almost killing her?" said a new voice behind her.

The girl in the cloak immediately turned away from the voice, twirled around in the air, and turned herself into a defensive stance as soon as her feet touched the ground. Standing there casually was a young man, probably between the ages of 16 to nineteen, wearing a red Chinese shirt and baggy black pants, with his hair tied in a pigtail, staring at her.

"Hi there." He said cheerfully.

"Who are you?" She asked with a growl, her eyes glowing once more. It isn't everyday a person could sneak up behind her without her noticing its presence. Whoever he is, he was able to masked his presence from her despite her heightened senses. And anyone who could that is quite dangerous in her book.

"The name's Ranma. And you are?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because it's the polite thing to do after someone introduced himself." He said, his smile unwavering despite her anger.

The girl stared at him for a moment, studying his stance and readying herself for any sign of hostility from the stranger. From his own words, she knew he saw the battle between her and the senshi. But he seems so casual about it. He was neither spooked nor afraid, as if he sees this kind of things everyday.

"How much did you see?"

"I came around the time that other girl used that shiny chain thingy."

"Then you know I could kill you anytime."

"No you won't. If you could that other girl would have been dead by now."

He was right and they both knew it. This only makes the girl tensed more. "Fine. But I can definitely maim you instead." She said as she pulls out her mallet.

"You could try. But wouldn't you rather have a decent conversation with me instead?" he smirked a bit, but his smile was still there.

"No." She said after a moment before jumping up onto the roof of the nearest building and leaping away from there, leaving a now more curious Ranma behind.

"That was interesting." He said to himself, a smile grazing his face, as he watch the girl disappear into the rooftops. "Maybe it wouldn't be so boring here after all."

The cloaked girl finally saw her destination ahead. The Tendo Dojo looked quite inviting after the trouble she went through tonight. Hopping from one rooftop to another, she travels towards the dojo as she thought about how it was getting harder to avoid that Sailor Senshi and also about that strange boy she met.

One more leap and she would be inside the Tendou property. She was almost inside when she felt a shield of some sort that that shocked her with several thousand volts of electricity, forcing her to jump away, landing on the street outside the property.

"What the hell was that?" She shouted to herself while rubbing her numbing arm. The front of her cloak was charred and her entire body was smoking a bit, despite that she was okay.

"Sorry about that." Said a female voice behind her.

With martial arts reflexes, the cloaked figure jumped away from the voice while turning around and taking a defensive stance. Seeing Nabiki Tendou standing there with a smirk on her face, she immediately put herself at ease and pushed down her hood, revealing the frowning face of Akane Tendou. "What the hell was that, onee-chan? I felt like I was struck with a lightning bolt. And look at my cloak! It's totally charred."

"Don't be such a grouch, imouto-chan. I was just testing out our new defensive wards. We can't have demonic entities just waltzing in our home, do we?"

Akane just glared at her older sister, her eyes glowing with the color of golden yellow.

"Oh, stop that, sis. It's quite creepy, you know." Nabiki said absentmindedly while walking towards the front door, making her younger sister sigh in defeat and comply. "Besides, we don't want your little adventures following you home. It wouldn't be cost effective."

"Fine. But you should have told me about extending the wards from the house to the entire compound."

"I needed to test if the wards were strong enough after extending the coverage area. I'm also doing this so we don't have to worry about your playmates attacking you in your sleep even though you only do that once a week now."

"Okay, okay. I get it." She said exasperated as she takes off her cloak, revealing the yellow gi she's wearing underneath, which was a bit charred as well. She has several burns on her skin and several bruises from her earlier fight with Sailor Venus.

"The senshi again?" Nabiki asked.

"Yeah. That brat is really starting to bug me." She sighed once more, withholding the story about the boy she met.

When they came into the living room, Kasumi was there waiting for them with the first aid kit and a small basin with clean water and a damp clothe beside her. Akane really didn't need to be patched up since her healing power would make sure all her wounds would disappear in a few days. But she knows better than to argue with Kasumi whenever she goes into a caring-mother-nurse mode. Besides, whenever her older sister takes care of her, those wounds would surely disappear by tomorrow, a phenomenon neither Nabiki nor Akane nor Kasumi herself, are able to explain.

"You should really stop playing so rough, Akane. Those stains would be really hard to wash off." She said as she starts to clean up her wounds with that ever-present cheerful smile of hers.

"Don't worry so much about me, Kasumi. I can handle it. Besides, it was Nabiki's fault for charring my clothes." She said proudly before glaring at her middle sister.

"It's not like it looks any better than before." Nabiki smirked as she starts heading up to her room, ignoring her younger sister's glare.

Ryouga woke up in the middle of the night with his bladder full. Looking for the bathroom only took him half an hour. When he tried to get back to bed, he found himself lost once more because all he sees around him are trees. "DAMN IT! WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?"

Meanwhile, somewhere in Nagasaki:

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" cried a Swat team member as he tossed a hand grenade towards the creature that was wrecking havoc inside a local convenience store.

The creature, which seems to be part human and part Doberman dog, was blown away by the explosion, only to stand up was more, roaring in anger. It ripped a large soda machine from a nearby wall and tossed it towards the police officers, who has the right mind to get out off the way.

"Damn it! What does it get to stop this thing!" Another one of the officers said as they begun shooting it down with no apparent success. The bullets penetrated it but the bullet wounds merely heals itself up before it does permanent damage to it.

CHUNK! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTT!

Almost everyone in the vicinity stopped cold on their tracks when a metal spatula stuck itself on the creature's chest, particularly when the said spatula suddenly emitted several thousand volts of electricity, shocking the beast momentarily. Then, a bright white orb flew towards the monster, hitting it directly in the face, where it was absorbed. The creature's head exploded a second later and it fell down the ground twitching a few times before finally stopping dead. Moments later, the creature started morphing into an ordinary looking Doberman without a head.

When everyone turned around, they saw a young boy, probably 16 to 18 years old, holding fancy looking gun attached to a contraption on her back by means of thick insulated wires. He was wearing a blue high school uniform and has long brown hair tied in a ponytail. After retrieving his metal spatula, which was still embedded on the headless dog's chest, he then headed towards an old man wearing a lab coat that was standing beside the police chief.

"Thank you for the assist, Professor Ikamura. My men can handle the rest." The police captain said to the old man and giving the boy a slight nod of thanks before heading towards the crime scene.

The old man just nodded and went towards the door on the side of a large truck parked nearby followed by the young man silently. Inside the truck was an assortment of highly advanced tracking devices and several units of the weapon used by the boy.

"How did it go, Kuonji?" asked Ikamura casually as he set himself on the driver seat.

The boy took of the device on his back and set it down on the floor and placed himself on the passenger seat before answering, "The spatula worked as well as we'd hope but the darn plasma gun still took too long to charge. The energy pack was way too heavy and constricting. And I could almost feel that darn pack overheating on my back after that first shot. It was lucky that was only a level 3 youma tonight or else this might not had turned out so easy."

The professor sighed at the boy's analysis on the weapon's testing as he flicked the ignition switch and starts driving off. He knew the weapons he made was are still a bit hard to handle but at least they were a hell of a lot better when they were just starting this business almost a year ago. It's true that the exterminating demonic entities aren't your normal average business practice, but someone needs to do it.

"Well, at least it gets the job done." He said cheerfully. "Besides, the new design still got a lot of bugs on it to be considered safe for usage so you just have to make due with what we have now. Also, even though your current spiritual analysis is much higher now, it's still not enough to handle the new weapons."

"By the way, how's the search going?" He asked suddenly.

"Oh, that reminds me," the doctor said as he took out a folder beside his seat and handed it to Ukyo. "It took me a while but I was finally able to track down this guy you were looking for. And I'd say this Genma Saotome is quite a bit more colorful character than I first thought. I mean, you wouldn't believe how long his criminal record is, particularly on petty thievery and breaking and entering."

Ukyo smirked as he said, "Genma Saotome is much worse than that. He's an honorless slob who doesn't care about anyone else than himself. And I bet his son is just as bad as," His ranting abruptly stopped when he saw the last two pages on the folder. "What the HELL is THIS?"

"They are copies of their death certificate."

"B-but, This can't be! They can't be dead." He said disbelieving.

"It says they got trapped inside an inn they were staying at when it burned to the ground five years ago. Both bodies were found together in the second floor where the fire seems to have originated from. The child's body was so charred that the father's dental records were the only sufficient clarification that identified Genma Saotome."

"I don't believe it. I WON'T believe it. Genma Saotome is a leech with more lives than a cat when it comes to saving his own skin. I'll believe it when I see his grave."

"Well, it says there that their bodies were sent to his wife at Juuban Ward in Tokyo."

"Then I'll head to Tokyo immediately."

"That's good because I'm shifting our base of operation on district nearest to it. There has been quite a lot of youma activity centered near that area. I've already asked Konatsu to take care of moving everything there."

"Good." Said Ukyo with a frown.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This is a repost and rewrite of my previous story, "Nerima in the Dark", taking away most of the palagrism.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Sailormoon.

CHAPTER II

------Two years ago------

"Well, here we are P-chan. I sure hope they got what we need here." The 14 year old red headed Ranma-chan said to the young bandannaed boy standing next to her as they stare at the old rundown building in front of them.

"Are you sure this is the right place? And don't call me P-chan!" The dark-haired boy said as he swatted the back of the red-haired girl's head rather strongly.

Ranma looked at the flyer on her hands before looking at the building and then looking at the flyer again. "Shou Exorcisms and Curse Breakers Ltd. Number 34 Kowloon St., East Side, Hong-Kong. Well, this is the right address."

"It sure doesn't seem like a reliable place to find a cure. I mean, look at the place. It seems ready to be demolished soon."

"Let's go in. Maybe it looks better on the inside." She said as she walks towards the front door followed by the still doubtful Ryouga.

What they saw inside wasn't far from the outside. There is only two usable room there and the rest were covered with condemned signs. One room even have a yellow police lines on it. Both the unfurnished concrete walls and walls have several cracks on it. There was only one desk there, and there was a giant black man sleeping on it who looks like a punk rocker reject with his spiky purple hair, several gold chain medallions, and gold nose and ear piercing (think of Mr. T and Birdie combined).

"Looks better inside huh?" Ryouga smirked.

"Shut up." Ranma-chan said quietly as she went over and tried to poke the big guy awake. "Hey, big guy, is this the place where they cure curses?"

Groggily, the man opened his eyes, looked at the girl, and said, "Applicants goes right through there, missy.", before falling asleep again.

Getting the information they needed, the two of them went to the said door, opened it, and came in. Inside was a 35 years old Chinese woman wearing simple looking priestess clothes, sitting behind her desk, which was full of unfinished paper works and several ancient looking objects, all of which have certain Chinese wards on them. She was talking heatedly on the phone and by the looks of it, she was arguing over the cost of something.

"Yes, I guarantee the removal of the entity on your son . . . Of coarse not. A thousand only covers its removal, nothing else . . . Yes, that does sound a bit too much but I assure you your son's life is worth more . . . Yes, okay. Me, and my associates, would get there right away. Just have the cash ready. Bye." Putting down the phone, she then turned towards the two teenagers as she opens her drawer and pulling a small briefcase from inside. "Good. You must be the new applicants. You're hired." She threw the briefcase towards Ryouga, who caught it easily before heading out the door.

"Actually, we're here for," Ranma-chan begun as she followed the woman along with her friend.

"No time to talk, hon. We need to get downtown fast before our new client decides to cancel on us. Just follow my lead and don't talk. Maybe we could cash in more if we manage to keep the kid alive." She went out the backdoor where her car, a rusty, busted, old model Corolla. "Well, what are you two waiting for? Get in so we could get paid sooner!" She said when the two just stood there staring at the car.

"No offense lady, but are you sure that thing could run?" Ryouga asked.

"It looks quite ready to be taken to the junk yard." Ranma-chan supplied, which earned her a dashboard to the head when Mao Lin ripped it off in anger.

"Just get in, you brats." And they complied silently.

"Let me get this straight. You want US to go IN THERE, subdue the demon-possessed kid who is currently torching the entire place, stick this spirit ward on his forehead thus releasing the demon inside him, and try to trap the demon inside this small tiny box before it manages to kill either of us?" Ranma-chan asked as she, Ryouga, Mao Lin, and the kid's parents watch as the blazing kid, who is about seven years old boy with several red marks on his face, floats around inside the house while throwing fireballs left and right.

"Yup. That's it." Mao Lin clarified at her hiding place behind a street lamp just outside the one story house. She knew she should have demanded they got paid in advance so she could have left during the ensuing chaos but the possessed kid burst through the room and started throwing fireballs before she could harass the parents for it.

Both teenagers just shrugged their shoulders and simply said, "Okay."

"I know that such actions could probably get the two of you killed but as your boss I assure you your families will get 20 of what we earned today and," Mao Lin had obviously been prepared to give this speech at the event her new helpers shows any sign of common sense, like the ones before them, whom decides to think they're lives are more important than they're jobs, so it took a while before their answer finally reach her brain. "What?"

"We said okay." Ranma-chan said simply as she starts to walk towards the house with the ward and the tiny wooden box on her hands.

"Y-you mean you'll do it?" Mao Lin asked astounded.

"Yeah, sure. We hadn't had a good fight in a while." Ryouga said in the same tone as Ranma-chan as he follows his friend while cracking his knuckles. He kicked the door open and immediately jumped in, thus avoiding a fireball that incinerated what was left of the said door.

At the same time, Ranma-chan leaped through the broken window and kicked a chair towards a fireball heading towards her and caused the aforementioned chair to explode.

"FOOLS! DO YOU MORTAL THINKS YOU COULD STOP ME? MY FLAMES WILL TORCH ANYTHING THAT TOUCHES THIS BODY!" The kid shrieked in a tone that was clearly not his own. The voice was like the sound you make when nails scratched through the surface of a blackboard.

"We wouldn't know if we don't try." Ranma-chan smirked as she threw another chair towards the kid, who floated away to avoid it. After that came a mini table, a love couch, a flower vase, anything she could grab in that room and lastly, a fire extinguisher.

Most of the stuff thrown at him was torched, the bigger ones which could not be burned to ashes immediately was dodged lazily. The demon inside the boy laugh at her puny attempts hit him. "YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME WITH SUCH POOR METHODS! THE CHILD'S SOUL IS MINE TO CONSUME, AND IN A MOMENT, SO WILL BE YOURS!" It taunted.

"Think again, baka." The redhead smirked as she just stood there looking at him confidently.

The demon noticed that it wasn't only him that she was looking at. Looking up, it saw the fire extinguisher had a hole in it and it was releasing enough cold carbon that was slowly diminishing its flames. It was floating out of the way when Ryouga grabbed him from behind in an arm lock, preventing his escape. "YOU INSULENT FOOL! I SHALL BURN YOU TO ASH!" It said as it concentrated all its remaining flames on the boy holding it down.

The burning form of Ryouga was blasted out through the wall, but the power exerted was too much to retain the flames on its host's body, which gave Ranma-chan the chance to place the Demon Vanishing Ward on the boy's forehead.

The demon screamed as it was forcefully ejected out of the boy's body. It didn't even get the chance for a vicious threat when the red head shoved the box on it, where it was absorbed and then trapped inside with another demon seal.

As soon as the seal on the box was placed, the fire around the house burned out immediately and the boy, who had lost all the demon mark on him, fell on the floor unconscious.

Outside, both Mao Lin and the boy's parents were looking over the burned corpse of the bandanna boy, who was now sizzling on the front yard. 'What a waste of a perfectly good employee. At least we got the job done.' Mao Lin thought before turning her eyes towards the parents. 'Maybe I should get a higher pay from them for the tragedy of losing an employee for saving their son?'

Mao Lin's trail of thoughts were put on hold when the redhead came towards them with the young boy on her shoulder and the demon sealed box on her hand, and started kicking the other boy's corpse while saying, "Get up, pork breathe. How long are you gonna be lying there?"

Mao Lin was about to give the girl a sermon about respecting the dead, thus allowing her to hassle more of the payment for herself later, when the corpse suddenly started regenerating himself. When it was done, the boy simply coughed a few times, stood up, dusted himself off, glared at his friend, and said, "Shut the hell up, Ranma! Why don't we burn YOU alive and see how you do!"

"Maybe later. Here you go." She said as she carefully put the kid down on the ground. Both parents forgot the earlier shock and went to see they're now demon-free son.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Was the first words that came out of the kid's mouth as soon as he woke up.

Both parents were ecstatic and were crying with joy as they hugged their son. "Thank You! Thank you so much! How could we ever repay you?" The mother said.

The word 'pay' immediately jerked Mao Lin out of her shocked state and addressed the two parents with a sly smile as she said, "We would require double the agreed amount as hazard pay for my top employees."

"Done." The father said immediately before the others, particularly Ranma-chan and Ryouga, could protest.

"Please, please, please, please, PLEASE WORK FOR ME! All of my field agents are either dead, missing, or sueing me for attempted homicide and almost having their soul eaten by demons. PLEASE, YOU ARE MY LAST HOPE TO GET A DECENT CHANCE AT THIS BUSINESS!"

"ALRIGHT ALREADY JUST WATCH THE FREAKIN' ROAD!" Ranma-chan shouted as she tried to steady the car's steering wheel when they nearly hit another incoming bus.

Mao Lin was currently driving them back to the office when they were finally given the chance to tell her their story. With the prospect of losing these two as employees, she immediately started begging both of them (particularly Ranma-chan since Ryouga is in the backseat) to work for her, letting go of the steering wheel as the car was moving at 40 miles per hour through downtown Hong-Kong, grabbing Ranma-chan by the shirt, and sobbing pathetically fake tears.

"You're pathetic, Ranma." Ryouga snickered.

"Shut up, porky. I don't see you complaining when we almost hit that truck."

"Perks of being me now. I don't need to worry about such things anymore." He said with a smirk.

"Someday I gonna kill you so bad not even your Wu status can regenerate you back." She said hotly.

"I'd like to see you try, femboy." He said laughing his heart out for having the upper hand over his friend in this fight.

"D-did you just say he's a Wu?" Mao Lin asked, her face set in shocked, unknowingly letting go of the steering wheel once more.

"I SAID WATCH THE ROAD, LADY!"

"Well, I'd say you two were quite lucky for having the Spring of Drowned Men drained during the time." Mao Lin said as she reads a scroll that contains the details of Jusenkyo curses, which, at the moment, is laid out on the desk of her office.

"What is so lucky about that?" Ranma asked hotly, who is in his male form, from his seat in front of Mao Lin's desk.

"Bwee!" Ryouga, in his cursed form added.

"For one thing, the pools aren't what makes Jusenkyo so dangerous but the spirit of the place itself." Mao Lin said as a matter of fact before continuing. "You weren't cursed by accident. The spirits trapped in the springs had drawn you to be cursed."

"You mean, we would eventually get cursed no matter what?"

"Yes, unless you're familiar with the essence of Jusenkyo. If not then you are doomed to be cursed the moment you set foot on the place."

"But could you get us cured?"

"Sure. All you need is a bucket of water from the Spring of Drowned Man once it is able to produce enough water for both of you. I'll have someone to check Jusenkyo periodically until we could get some of that water to be brought here. But you must be in the right state of mind and spirit to get cured or else the curse will mix instead of curing you."

Both Ranma and the little black piglet shuddered at the thought of having their curse mixed. "Right state of mind and spirit?"

"That's right. It's a bit different with every curse. You see, when you got your curses, part of the spirit of the thing that had originally drowned on the pools are transferred to you along with the curse itself. The spirit usually tries to fight for dominance against another curse thus creating a mixed curse. The spirit must be willing to leave the body of the cursed individual for the cure to work."

"You mean, part of the person that drowned in the pool is living inside me? Are you telling me we're possessed?"

"Yes and no. You do have part of the spirit of the drowned person inside you but not in the sense it could take over your body since it doesn't possess a consciousness of its own." Mao Lin said before turning towards the piglet. She was staring at it, particularly at the mark of 'void' on its forehead, which signifies that he is indeed a Wu, an immortal being who has the ability to regenerate himself. "Your second curse, on the other hand, is a bit easier to solve. I just don't know how you managed to do a soul transfer by yourself."

"Trust me, it wasn't pretty. Me and him managed to come across this group of occults that was trying to resurrect a guy named Kayanwang or something with a jar with an insignia of three eyes on it. We crashed their little ceremony and this guy managed to get impaled in the middle of their ritual. The jar was destroyed and he ended up like that since then."

"But where did his soul go? The end of his immortality is centered on the destruction of the object holding his soul."

"That would be me." Ranma said evenly.

"Well, there you have it. All you need to do is kill him if you want to die." Mao Lin said cheerfully before producing two sets of papers and pen. "Please sign your signature on the dotted line of this contract which states that you two would be working for me for at least a year and a half."

"I don't know about this." Ranma said mostly to himself.

"B-b-but you promised!" Mao Lin was already beginning to shed tears.

"Bweee!"

"You're right, Ryouga. It would be easier for us if he have descent jobs while we wait." Ranma said taking the contract and signing it.

----Present Time-------

"Sorry, young miss, but the item you are looking for has already been sold a month ago to someone else." The old man who owns the antique shop said.

"ARE YOU INSANE? Don't you know that that thing is CURSED? How could you sell something so dangerous, and to a high school girl?" Ranma-chan shouted as she grabbed the owner's shirt and shook him a couple of times.

"Do master want Naomi to kill human trash?" Naomi said hopefully as she morphed into her two meter demon form, complete with bat-like wings, razor-sharp black claws, glowing yellow cat like eyes, two yellow thick ram-like horns, deadly fangs, pointed ears, a tail, and a dominatrix suit that barely covers the essentials.

"NO! Please! The other girl was very persuasive in purchasing the item and had threatened me with bodily harm if I didn't let her buy it. I was forced to sell it because she said she needed it to whack some sense into a bokken-wielding schoolmate of hers. I didn't even managed to tell her about it being cursed." The old man begged as Naomi begun to step to his direction.

"Naomi, could you tell me if he is lying?"

"Yes master." She said as she started sniffing the air around the old man. "He is lying master."

"What? H-how could that creature,"

"Shut up, old man. My demon has the ability to smell lies on people like you. So tell me the truth."

"O-Okay, okay! I-I sold her the item because sales was low and I never told her about the curse. Please don't kill me!"

"I want the address of the girl you sold the item to, NOW! And I want you to mail every single cursed or magical items you got to a friend of mine in Hong-Kong. After that, you got one week to find a new line of work or I'll send my demon after your miserable hive and she will have my full permission to make your death as painfully LONG as possible. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" The man said, wetting himself as he rush to find the other girl's address like his life depended on it, which, ironically, it is.

"You sure know how to pick them, sugar."

"Thank you Ukyo-sama." Konatsu said at Ukyo's praise as she checks out the three story building, which they would be using to open up an okinomiyaki restaurant here in Nerima. "I managed to rent the entire building for at least six months. There are three rooms each on the second and third floor, and the basement is large enough to accommodate all of the professor's work. Gas, electricity, and water would be operational within the week. All we need to do now is set the grill, tables, and chairs inside and Ucchan's could start taking in customers by next week. I'll be scouting the area later today to find the best place to buy groceries we would need for the restaurant."

"Konatsu-honey, I know I don't say this much often, but what would I ever do without you." Ukyo said, giving the feminine ninja a sincere smile, making Konatsu blush so red it put ripe tomatoes to shame, before heading inside the building, where Professor Ikamura was having a cup of coffee.

"Well, what do you think, Kuonji?" The old man asked as he gave her a sheet of paper.

"It will definitely do." She said. "What this?"

"Your application form for school. I've already enrolled you at Furinkan High so all you need to do is fill that out and give it to the school's admission office when you get there." The professor said before sipping his coffee.

Ukyo sighed in resignation. She knew arguing about school to the doc was futile since she is underage. Besides, it's not like she isn't used to transferring schools everytime their operation moves to another location. All she had to do is try not to make any friends that she could end up hurting once she disappears all of a sudden when she relocates later. "Fine. I just hope I manage to finish the end of term before we move again."

"Don't worry. I have the feeling we'll be here for a while." The professor said cryptically.

"WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?" Shouted Ryouga once more as he finds himself in an alley surrounded by tall buildings every where. Adjusting his pack on his back, he begun to roam the place once more in hope of finding either his house or Ranma, whichever comes first.

He had barely walked ten steps when he heard several voices and a crash nearby. Thinking of asking where he is, he started running towards the voices. When he turned on another alley, he saw a beautiful lady in a blue floral kimono surrounded by at least a dozen large men in black suits. The woman has a sheathed samurai sword in her hands and one of the men in black is sprawled down on the concrete floor by her feet.

"I told you before, Oda, the only way to relinquish this sword is by having it removed from my dead hands." The woman said quietly but no one can refuse to acknowledge the threat behind her voice.

"Come now, Nodoka-chan. Grandfather has ordered me to take the sword. Are you denying our clan leader's order?" Said the smallest of the men surrounding her. The guy, whose name is Oda, seems to be a few years older than the woman. He was wearing an expensive white suit with a blue polo shirt underneath it, a large gold chain necklace, and several gold rings on his fingers. Overall, a typical mob.

"You and I both know that no one ordered you to do this. All you want is to present this sword to grandfather's vile mistress to get yourself further up the clan."

"That may be the case. But I would still get that sword from you. And the Family Blade comes with me today whether you like it or not." Oda said as he signaled his men to attack. It was then that Ryouga decided to attack.

Nodoka was about to draw her sword when a young man, wearing a yellow and black bandanna jumped between her and the rest of Oda's goons. With several lightning fast swipes of his bamboo umbrella, the young man managed to decrease their number in half.

"Who the heck are you?" Oda asked hotly at the young man attacked half of his men, who were mostly part of the alley wall at the moment.

Ryouga ignored him as he studied the rest of the goons and thinking of the fastest and most effective way to bring them down if they step even an inch closer. Most of them are set in a fighting stance so he knew most of them have at least studied martial arts. "Dishonorable morons! Ganging up on a single opponent is an act of cowards. As a true martial artist, I, Ryouga Hibiki, of the Hibiki School of Wanderer's Martial Arts, shall not allow it!" he declared as he begun to attack.

Oda was shocked as all of his best men, who were at least a second dan black belt, were beaten by a single opponent barely half their age and size with an oversized umbrella. Just before the last of his men went down, he took out a 9mm hand gun from his pocket. He was about to shoot the boy while his back was turned when a slashing sound forced him to back off.

After beating down the last of the goons, Ryouga turned to finish off their leader, only to see him fleeing away with half a gun in his hand. The other half, which was cleanly cut down by Nodoka's lightning fast slash, was resting on the floor by her feet. He also saw the guy named Oda running away as if chased by a couple of lust demons.

Nodoka wrapped the sheathed sword once more with a beige colored silk. Placing it on her shoulder, she then turned towards the boy and bowed to him formally as she said, "Thank you, young man, for saving me."

"N-no problem, Miss Nodoka. I was just glad putting down this jerks." He said with a laugh while scratching the back of his head. He was blushing a bit. The woman might be older than him by, at most, a decade, but her natural beauty is quite noticeable despite her age.

Nodoka gave a graceful laugh herself. This young man proved to be quite a gentleman, as well as a skilled martial artist. And he isn't bad looking either with that fanged smile, black messy hair, and his broad, rough physical attributes, a man among men.

Ryouga noticed the sudden change of facial expression on Nodoka's face. She seems quite sad all of a sudden. "Is there something wrong, Nodoka-san?"

Nodoka immediately set aside that trail of thoughts and gave the young boy a smile before saying, "No, Ryouga-kun. I just thought of my son for a moment. If he was alive today, he'll be about your age."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Please accept my condolence." He said sincerely.

"Don't worry, Ryouga-kun. He and my husband had been gone a long time. And I have a wonderful twelve years old daughter to keep me busy. Would you like to have tea with me?"

"Sure. I was just looking for directions to Shinjuku but I guess I could spare a few hours." He said at the woman who reminds him greatly of his own mother. "Oh, ah, would you mind leading the way? I, ah, kinda have this problem with directions. And I've only been in town for a day."

Nodoka gave him another smile as she said, "It would be an honor, Ryouga-kun. And please call me Aunt Nodoka."

Nabiki sat in class, watching the morning drama as it played out in the schoolyard. On the left, her sister Akane was engaged in fierce combat with the various members of Furinkan High's sports' clubs. This had become such a typical sight that it was boring to watch. The fight was so repetitive that she could tell which moves her sister was going to use even before she used them. Boy attacks, Akane dodges, counterattacks, knocking the boy unconscious. Repeat until you run out of boys. It was even made easier now because of her sister's physical upgrade due to being half demon.

Nabiki had been planning on leaving Nerima as soon as she graduates from high school. Using her mercenary tactics to earn enough money to leave her family to make sure they wouldn't need to worry financially until she manages to graduate from college. She had also opened an account for Kasumi's college funds, which would allow her to enter a middle class university if they choose to pursue being a nurse like she always dreamed of. And as soon as she gets a job, she'll be working on Akane's college fund. But her younger sister's accident with a cursed hammer dampens her plan of ever leaving. She had to make sure that if she ever decides to leave, her family would be there for her to come back. Now she only have a year and a half to figure out how to solve those problems. And to make this worse, the local Yakuza was starting to sniff around on her operations.

Kyoko was feeling a little worried for her boss at the moment. She had been acting a bit strange the past couple of weeks, but Nabiki did have the occasional mood swing. No one else  
noticed them, but Kyoko did. Rumor has it that she and her sisters got caught up in something strange that almost killed Akane but they were quite tight lipped about it, that and the Yakuza seems to be starting to get involved. Kyoko ran off a mental checklist on her boss. Staring out the window before class to watch the fights: normal. Besides, no one really needed to watch Akane's fights any more to know how they end up.

That was the pronounced change, the one that anyone could have noticed. Nabiki hadn't called for any bets. Her factors had taken care of it anyway, but for her to not even ask about it this far into the fight was unprecedented. Nabiki also seemed to be concentrating on subjects pertaining to mysticism a bit much lately for Kyoko's liking.

"Sempai," Kyoko called out to her, but Nabiki continued to stare and didn't respond.  
"Sempai?" Kyoko said again and tried tugging at her boss's arm to get her attention. She liked how her boss always preferred to wear silk blouses. Kyoko had started wearing them herself  
because of it.

Nabiki's eyes seemed to snap into focus as she turned around to face her factor. "What is it, Kyoko?"

Kyoko blinked a little in surprise. No 'Kyoko-chan?' Nabiki called everyone who worked for her '-chan', partly as a closeness thing and partly to show who was the boss. She called Kuno 'Kuno-chan' mostly as a private joke with her factors, since the bokken-wielding nutcase was practically working for her the way she made so much money off of him. Anyone who worked for her usually called her 'Nabiki-san', though he younger factors preferred 'sempai.' No one called her 'Nabiki-chan,' except her older sister, who was such a sweet person that she could get away with anything. Kyoko didn't think that even Nabiki's father called her 'chan.'

"I thought that you'd like to know how the betting is going today, since the fights are almost over."

Despite being a year younger than Nabiki and about half the staff, Kyoko had been recently chosen as the boss's chief assistant. Nabiki had said that it was due to Kyoko's scores in math, which were the highest in the school, and the fact that she was in the same class as the boss's younger sister, who she liked to keep an eye on, and not always as a source of revenue. Kyoko liked to think that there were other reasons as well.

Nabiki took the clipboard her assistant had handed her and started going over the numbers, pushing all thoughts of demons out of her mind. The betting on Akane vs. the idiots -- as Nabiki liked to call the boys who actually listened to Kuno -- had gone steadily down, even after they had changed it from 'who will win' to 'how fast will Akane pound the boys into the pavement.' Those fights just weren't exciting any more. Nabiki shook her head. Morons like that didn't deserve to get allowances.

Nabiki handed back the clipboard with a smile. "Looks like my sister's fights aren't that popular any more. We'll have to make sure that the picture sales keep coming."

Kyoko noticed that the smile was forced. It has been a while since her sempai gave anyone her true smile, but she remembers it with crystal clarity. Just thinking about that smile made her blush. She just wished her sempai would grant her that smile again one of these days. That is why she took all her courage and asked the one question that everyone else wanted to know but no one dared to asked. "Sempai, what's wrong? You've been different these past few weeks. Does it have anything to do with your sister?"

Nabiki starred at her trembling factor for a moment. She knew it took every ounce of her courage to ask that of her since the last person that tried to meddle in her personal business got the 'cold-shoulder', which, in Nabiki's book, meant an act of mutiny against her. But still, she couldn't really blame the young girl for being concern about her. Among all others, she considers Kyoko as her protegee, her heir in the Furinkan High Underground Organization. If she wanted to trust anyone, it would be her.

Calming herself for a moment, she asked, "Kyoko, do you believe in demons, angles, magic, and other supernatural beings?"

Kyoko let out a breath she hasn't even realized she was holding before answering truthfully, "I-I don't know, Sempai. Should I?"

"Yes, you should." Her answer was cold but certain. Kyoko doesn't know whether to panic or be awed by her boss' certainty. Surely, such a realist modern woman like her sempai would regard the supernatural as nothing more than overactive imagination of certain people. But why does Kyoko feel her boss is so sure it isn't?

"I-I'm not sure, Sempai." She cringed when Nabiki actually glared at her. Her stare was so cold Kyoko felt she was going to freeze right there and then. "I'm sorry, Nabiki-sama! Please forgive me for my insolence!" She said doing a great imitation of the Saotome's School final technique: 'Crouch of the Wild Tiger', bowing low enough that her forehead touches the ground.

"Insolence is easily forgivable. Ignorance is not." Nabiki cringed at sounding so much like Kuno. But she feels the situation calls for it. Then, with a genuine smile, she said, "I think you should start considering their existence, because, believe it or not, it is the root of my problems."

Kyoko felt Nabiki patting her gently on the shoulder before she left to get to her own classroom. They always watch the fight from Akane's classroom since it got the best view of the ground.

Her talk with Nabiki didn't really got Kyoko the answer she was looking for, but it was so much more than she thought she would get from her. It wasn't much but she knew it was a start. Her sempai had told her something that might be considered a weapon against her and she trusted her enough to reveal it to her. To show Nabiki that she could trust her, Kyoko swore to force herself to believe what her sempai thinks is real, even if it means consulting with the freaky Gosunkuji. Maybe it's time she started talking to her grandmother's old maid sister, who everyone in her family says a crazy, self-proclaimed medium.

"Damn that woman! I swear I'll get her for this, one day! And I'll get that punk too!" Oda cursed as he steps out of his car and went inside one of the exclusive elevators of the huge office building in the middle of Shinjuku. The Himura Tower is one of the many major establishments owned by the Himura Clan and is considered as the trade center for most of the family's businesses.

Getting of at the 40th floor, he went straight into his office and groaned as he saw one of the last persons he wanted to see sitting on his desk with a smirk on his face. "By the scowl on your face, I assume things didn't go as planned?"

"Kuznite," He really wanted to snarl the name but he knew it wouldn't be good for his health. ", it wasn't my fault! There was this punk that got in the way and . . ."

Kuznite didn't let him finish and lazily wave his hand. Oda was hurled across the room with an unseen force and slumped pathetically on the floor. "I don't take kindly to failure, Oda." Actually, Kuznite wasn't really angry at all. In fact, he was rather enjoying himself. Getting that sword isn't really that important. He just likes humiliating the pathetic man to ease his boredom.

"F-forgive me. I-I shall get that s-sword very soon." He said under gritting teeth as he struggles to push himself up the floor. He knew it wasn't fair. He was a nephew of the head of the Himura Clan yet this man, along with several other people, act as if he was a mere trash, unwanted garbage.

Kuznite just smirked at him and said, "Nevermind about the sword. I have another job for you. It would be much simpler than taking a silly little knife from one woman, so I hope you won't disappoint me this time." He dropped a picture on the floor, which Oda grudgingly picked up.

"What's this?" Oda asked as he looked at the picture of a brown haired girl in a school uniform.

"She runs the local gambling pool down at Nerima Ward. I want you to convince her to . . . buy our protection."

"B-but this is just simple muscle work! Any of our paid goons on the street can do this kind of job!" He said indignantly.

"Which is why I'm sure you could handle it." He smiled at the look at Oda's face. It was priceless, especially at how well he managed to imitate a gaping fish out of water. "And just to make sure you don't screw this up, I'm sending you one of my lackeys to supervise."

Oda never even realized there was somebody else in the room when a huge black man wearing a suit and tie stepped out of the shadows. He was almost seven feet tall, lean and full of muscle.

Kuznite smiled when he saw Oda almost wetting his pants at the sight of one of his disguised youma. It was one of his weakest creations, having only it's strength as its asset, but it was still far stronger than any normal human alive. "His name is Vhan and he would be making sure you finish the job. Do I make myself clear?"

Oda gritted his teeth but nodded nonetheless.

"Good." Kuznite said cheerfully before leaving.

Oda really wanted to scream curses right about now but was afraid of Vhan manhandling him if he hears him cursing his boss behind his back. So he settled for glaring at the picture of the girl with a boy-page-cut hair style. Maybe he could bent his frustrations on her once he gets his hands on her. Turning the picture around, he saw the name of the girl written on the back.

He snarled as he read the name, "Nabiki Tendo."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This is a repost and rewrite of my previous story, "Nerima in the Dark", taking away most of the palagrism.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Sailormoon.

**CHAPTER III**

A year ago:

"What are we doing here again?" Ryouga asked as he looks up the large creepy mansion in front of him along with Ranma and Mao Lin.

"We're here to transport a book to a shrine at the other side of Hong-Kong. By the way, where have you been this past week?" Mao Lin said.

"Mongolia, I think. Anyway, why come to us? I mean, how hard is it to take one simple book from here to the other side of the city?" Ryouga said again, grunting.

"I don't think it's just your average old book, P-chan. The client was quite adamant about us making sure that book reach the shrine in one piece and said something about the world ending if we failed." Ranma said in a serious tone.

Ryouga noticed this and frowned. "What's eating you, Saotome?"

"Nothing." Ranma said instantly. "It's just I get this vibe from this place that makes my hair stand on end. My danger sense has been working overtime since we got this case."

"I see." Ryouga pondered about this. He knew that every time Ranma gets this sort of feelings, things always tend to go very, very bad one way or another. The last time he got this serious was when Mao Lin had them on a mission to retrieve a stolen map of a certain Jusenkyo guide from a tribe of winged people on Jusendo. What they didn't know was that a group of Amazons was also there in a mission to rescue a kidnapped great granddaughter of the matriarch that would be used as the sacrifice for the ascension of the Pheonix God Saffron. With the help of the Amazon rescue team, Ryouga and Ranma battled the Pheonix God and managed to beat it using the keys for its ascension, the Revered Fire Staff and the Ice Staff. In the end both fighters managed to level an entire mountain battling the God, earned the gratitude of the Amazon tribe, become the rightful keepers of Saffron's keys for ascension thus being the next judges for Saffron's next ascension, and indirectly rendered Jusenkyo in total wrecked for the next couple of years.

When both boys found out about Jusenkyo, it wasn't pretty.

"So, what do you think we'll find in there?" Ryouga asked Mao Lin.

"Why asked me? I'm not going anywhere near that book. I'll be waiting for the both of you at the shrine, thank you." Mao Lin said indignantly, earning a sigh from both boys that she just shrugged off. "Just make sure you get that book at the shrine in one piece so we could get paid in full. He only paid us half of it."

Both men just sighed. They had gotten used to Mao Lin's attitude for making money a priority over their lives. She was the kind of woman who would willingly sell her soul to the devil if there was enough zero in the cheque. But she does know her stuff, as long as there is no danger in the immediate area.

"I think things would get hectic once the book is out of its protective case." Ranma said before turning towards the lost boy. "Are you sure you got enough weapons on you?"

"Yeah. I've managed to restock all my bandannas and my new umbrella have had enough mystical enhancement to be effective enough even against demon lords."

"Good. Because I have a feeling that we'll need all the advantages we could get." He said, taking out two 45 Caliber Desert Eagle hand guns to inspect if they were fully loaded.

Ryouga knew perfectly well why both guns have different colors than your normal hand guns. It was because Ranma used the Phoenix God's staffs of ascension to craft them. One has a red and black motif on it since the steel used on it was from the Fire Staff, while the other one has a blue and white silver motif on it from the Ice Staff. After making sure that both were fully loaded, and there was enough ammo inside his subspace pocket, Ranma put both guns away and started heading inside the mansion with Ryouga following close behind.

"By the way, Ranma. What's the name of this book?"

Ranma stopped on his steps for a moment to answer, "It's called the Necronomicon."

For some reason, both boys felt a sudden chill running down their spines at the mention of the name. Ryouga voiced his opinion and said, "Why don't I like the sound of that?"

**BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!**

"DAMN!" Ranma cursed as he once again had to avoid a swarm of demon imps as he reloaded the bullets on both guns.

"SHI SHI HOKODAN!" Ryouga shouted as he vaporized a group of rat demons that tried to get the Necronomicon from the bag on his back.

The moment they took the book out of it's protective casing, minor demons of all shape and sizes begun assaulting both of them to get to the book. Both of them were thankful that for the moment, it was only low level demons that had been harassing them, which allowed them to managed getting halfway to the shrine killing all demons that stood on their way.

Suddenly, both boys felt a spike of power all over the place, causing all the minor demons to scramble away from the place. Turning towards the source of the power spike, they saw a huge boar demon standing on top of a three-story building in front of them. It was at least twelve feet tall and almost humanoid, except for its boar like head and lower body. Its entire body is covered entirely of dirty gray fur. Beside it is a cute eleven year old girl with bat-like wings, yellow ram-like horns, a tail, and huge yellow cat-like eyes. She was also wearing a lovely yellow sun dress that matches her dark purple hair. If it wasn't for her demonic features, she would be absolutely CUTE.

"Who the heck are you?" asked Ryouga hotly.

"Oh, me? I'm just a businessman with a little proposition for you." The boar demon said as it grinned at the two humans below him. It snapped its fingers and two dozen beautiful naked women started steeping out of the building he was standing on. Ryouga almost fainted in blood lost upon seeing so much female flesh. Some of them begun to giggle at the lost boy's beet red face and some started calling for them in a very sultry and seductive voices. "These are all my slaves. They are yours to do whatever you wish to satisfy your earthly pleasure. All of them in exchange for one book."

The boar demon grinned some more upon the silence he received from both boys. Them being hot blooded males, he was sure to lead them on his trap. As soon as his slaves managed to get close enough, he would spring his trap, kill those two boys, get the Necronomicon, and use the demonic book to increase his power a hundred folds.

"Master, I don't think," The little cute demon tried to say but she was immediately cut off by a strong backhand slap from the boar demon. She slammed into the ground, blood dripping out of the side of her mouth.

"Naomi, what have I told you about interrupting me?"

"S-sorry, m-master I," She was cut off again when the demon used its huge hoofed leg to step on her, causing anguished pain on her little body.

"And I told you never to speak unless I say so! It seems I need to teach you another lesson once this is over." It said as it increased the pressure on his foot, grinding it a little to cause even more pain. "Now speak up!"

The little demon coughed a bit of blood first before answering in a pained voice, "Y-yes, m-master."

"Good." The boar demon gave Naomi one more kick on the ribs for good measure before turning back towards the two young men. "Well now, what is your answer?"

Ryouga, who had seen the entire display of cruelty, was shaking in rage. Never had he seen anyone treat other beings like that. "Y-you MONSTER! How dare you do that to your own subordinate!"

"Oh, you mean this?" It asked as it kicked Naomi one more time, causing her to fall off the building and crash into the ground below. "She is a demon slave bonded to me. No matter what I do with her, no matter how much I torture her, she would do my biding unconditionally. For with out me, she will cease to exist in this world." The demon boar said, grinning maniacally at the enraged boy before turning a glance at his slave. "Stand up, you worthless piece of manure."

For a moment, the young girl demon stayed still. Then, ever so slowly, she begun to painfully stand on her own, her muscles eliciting a groan of pain with each movement. "Y-yes, m-master."

Ryouga, seeing the demon girl battered the way she is, with blood running down her mouth and nose, onw of her wing hanging useless behind her, and one arm bent in an unnatural angle, was enraged even more. He was about to charge the boar demon when,

**BANG! THUD!**

One of the two dozen naked women was thrown back with a bullet hole on her forehead. The moment the woman fell to the ground, it's entire skin turned blue and her once beautiful face transformed into a hideous mess of flesh and bone. The rest of the women started transforming themselves. The bent down in all fours, their skins turning from fresh pink to dark blue, their mouth growing razor sharp teeth, and their hair turning full white.

"W-what?" The demon boar asked in shock.

Ranma, who had been silent the entire time, turned a cold glare, as well as his still smoking gun, at the demon boar and said two simple words that could have freeze hell over. "_No Deal._"

Present Time:

"I can't believe that old fool! Imagine, selling something as dangerous as that to a mere high school student! If he weren't a human, his head wouldn't still be attached to his body!" Ranma-chan frowned as she and Naomi, in her human child form, walk towards the their destination . . . The Tendo Dojo.

"Does master want Naomi to go back and kill?" She asked hopefully.

"Not until next week, Naomi. If he's still there by that time, do to him what you want."

"Is Naomi allowed to do anything Naomi wants to shop owner?" She asked hopefully, already thinking of ways to torture the old man like she used to when she was still bonded with her previous master.

Ranma-chan saw that look in Naomi's eyes and started to think the fault in her command. But since she looks so hopeful, she just shrugged and hope Naomi doesn't do anything too drastic. Besides, if that fool doesn't heed her warning, then he deserves everything Naomi can provide for his death.

"Anyway, Naomi, why don't you go scout the rest of town for a while. I'll go do this errand alone and meet you back at the hotel. And try that thing I taught you on how to relax if you can, okay?"

"Is master sure Naomi should leave for while?"

"Sure, Naomi. And try to find Ryouga if you can."

"Naomi obey, master." Said the girl as she flew up to the sky as soon as she sprouted her wings. Ranma-chan shook her head, thinking she should really teach the demon to make sure no one was looking before revealing her demonic abilities.

Ranma-chan was too busy looking at her familiar that she didn't notice a young woman coming around the corner until she collided with her. With her martial arts reflexes, she managed to catch the other girl's arm before she fell on her rear. But Ranma wasn't able to catch the groceries she was carrying.

"Oh man! I'm really sorry about this, miss." Ranma-chan said apologetically as she started picking up the spilled vegetables off the ground.

"Oh my. No, it was my fault." Said the young woman as she started picking up the groceries as well.

As soon as all the groceries were picked, Ranma-chan finally managed to see the girl's face. She seems to be in her late teens, with long brown hair tied with a white ribbon, and wearing a simple housedress. She was radiating calmness with that cheerful smile of hers.

Ranma-chan bowed low once more as she said in her most sincere voice, "I'm really sorry about that. I should really look where I was going."

"Oh, please don't worry about it. I'm sure it was an accident." She said with that same cheerful smile, which was now a little strained as she held her arm.

Looking at the girl's arm, Ranma-chan winced as she saw a red handprint on it. She must have grabbed it tighter than she had thought. "No, it was my fault. And I'm sorry for grabbing you like that."

"Oh my. It's no problem at all. I'm sure it will be gone in a few minutes. It really was an accident." The girl declined politely.

"At least let me carry your stuff for you while it heals." Ranma-chan insisted politely.

The other girl seems to be thinking about it for a moment. Her hand did hurt a bit but it was negligible. But then again, the redhead seems to be blaming herself for it, and having a guilt like that is quite hard on a person. Then, after a few seconds of silence, she smiled at her brightly and said, "Well, if you insist." She gave her the groceries, which the redhead immediately took. "Thank you, miss, ah. I'm sorry but I never did asked you your name."

Ranma-chan first reaction at the female prefix was to grimaced, but then she is a girl at the moment. So what she did was gave her a smile and said, "Ranma. Ranma Saotome."

The young woman looked at the other girl, smiled and said, "Hello there. My name is Kasumi."

"Wow, Akane. Your appetite seems quite healthy this past few days." Yuka teased as she and Sayuri watched their friend devour her lunch. It was lunch time and the three of them were sharing a blanket on the roof of the school.

"Yeah, Akane. If you keep it up, you'll lose your figure." Added Sayuri with her own retort.

Akane stopped chewing for a moment to smile at her friends before saying, "Very funny, you guys. But I don't think I have to worry about my figure anytime soon. Besides, for some reason, I just feel hungrier these past week."

"Yeah, we noticed." Sayuri teased, looking at her friend's bento, which is twice the size of their own. "Anyway, I'm glad you started getting better at handling the Hentai Horde. You rarely get late now compared to the last several weeks."

"So tell us, is it another side effect of being half demon?" Yuka asked casually while Akane was drinking her juice. Both girls were immediately tapping her back when the juice went down the wrong pipe, with teasing smiles on their faces.

"Really, Akane. We're alone on the roof, you know. There's no one was listening." Sayuri admonished.

"Mou! I knew I should have never told you guys about that!" She pouted as soon as she was able.

"Relax, would you. Besides, it's not everyday we got a demon for our best friend." Yuka said, a-matter-of-factly.

"Half-demon, Yuka." Sayuri admonished. "Anyway, we heard rumors of another senshi attacking a hooded youma last night. Care to comment on that?"

"The brat just couldn't get it in her head that I'm no danger to society. Honestly! I was just out for some ramen. She managed to corner me when I was getting home." She explained. She was so glad her friends accepted her for what she is now.

There was really no way in hiding it from Yuka and Sayuri since they were there when she bought that demon-possessed object from that store. They saw how the demon burst out of the object when she tried using it the first time in the Tendo Dojo. They witnessed how she struggled to fight off the demon until she was able to absorb it into her body at the end. Although they freaked out a bit the first time her eyes glowed golden yellow orbs, she still managed to convince them that she was still the Akane they grew up with.

"And to top it all off, that boy appeared from no where and . . ." Akane said before she could stop herself.

Both girls immediately perked up at the mention of 'boy'. Yuka was the first to say, "So who is he?"

"Is he cute?" Sayuri squealed.

"How did you met?"

"How old is he?"

"Did something else happened?"

"We want every dirty details!" They said at the same time.

"Guys," Akane begun, a sweat drop on her head. Her friends are really just hopeless romantics. "It's just some guy who saw me fighting with the senshi brat. I don't know who he is but he seems to be our age. He said his name is Ranma. I've never seen him before. I didn't stick around since I was already running late getting home. That's all."

"Well, that was pathetic. You could have at least asked him his number." Yuka said with a sigh.

"Did he notice your, you know, other trait?" Sayuri asked cautiously.

"I don't know. I think he did, but he seems so, I don't know, casual about it? I mean, I threatened to maul him but he didn't even seems concern about it, particularly when he saw me fighting with the senshi and my eyes started glowing."

"So, Ranma didn't freaked out?" Yuka.

"No. He said he rather get into a conversation with me."

"Conversation with you?" Both girls asked at the same time. They look at each other for a moment before turning to Akane once again.

"Did he sound sincere about it?" Sayuri asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Did he seem like the type to hold your interest during a conversation?" Yuka asked.

"I wouldn't know."

"Did he tried to ogle you, undressing you with his eyes as he said that?"

"There was nothing to ogle. I was wearing a cloak."

"Was there any hint of perversion in the way he asked, or anything that suggest something else than a decent conversation with you?"

"Um, I don't think so."

"Did he seem like a freak, someone masochistic delusional who would suddenly sprout poems and try to beat you so he can date you?"

"No." Akane answered slowly. She's starting to notice where they are trying to get with these types of questions. She wasn't disappointed.

Both Yuka and Sayuri look at each other before turning to her as they said in the same time, "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE UP HIS OFFER?"

"Really, Akane, it's not everyday you meet a boy who would rather engage you in a conversation than try to beat you up for a date." Yuka said.

"Not every boy you met are like Kuno and the Hentai Horde." Sayuri added.

"How do you expect to catch a boyfriend if you turn down every guy you meet?"

"This Ranma character seems sincere enough to give you his name first."

"And he did still asked you after seeing your fight with the senshi, which means he might not care about your demonic traits at all. It would be a major advantage when you guys starts dating since you don't have to hide that from him."

"Plus, he doesn't suddenly sprout Shakesperian and try to beat you for dates."

"Guys," Akane begun, a huge sweat drop on her forehead. "Would you stop it? I only meet the guy for at least twenty seconds before I left him there. You two make it sounds like I'm destined to marry him or something."

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if you did? I mean, how often do you meet a dashing stranger out of the blues?" Yuka said with a dreamy expression on her face.

"It would definitely be romantic if you got home one day to find a handsome young stud engaged to you by my parents. It would be a dream come true!" Sayuri squealed with the same dreamy expression.

"Keep on dreaming because it's never going to happen." She said irritably before putting on a sad face. "Besides, who would ever want to have a demon for a girlfriend, much more a wife."

Both of her friends were on her sides in an instant. They knew that whenever she gets into her self-pitying mood, she needs all the reassurance she could get. It's been really hard on her since that day she got tainted with demon blood, but Sayuri and Yuka had been there to bring her out of her mood every time. They usually joke about it, but mostly they just share a group hug in silence until all her doubts disappear, such as right now.

Silence reined over the three for a couple of minutes, each savoring the friendship they had for each other and that no matter what happens, they'll always be friends. Soon enough, they parted from each other, each one had a smile of understanding on their faces.

"Thanks, you guys." Akane said sincerely at her two best friends.

"No problem, Akane. What are friends for?" Yuka said.

"Best friends." Sayuri corrected.

"Yeah. Best friends for life." Akane agreed wholeheartedly before suddenly stiffening. She turned around frantically looking around the place. There, sitting on top of the metal fence at the edge of the roof, a young girl was sitting and looking at them.

"Hello." The young girl said cheerfully.

Every fiber on Akane's body went tense as she stares at the young girl. She tried sensing any sign of danger from her but she found none. But still, the little girl doesn't feel quite human to Akane.

"Wow! She's so cute!" Squealed Yuka, oblivious to the fact that she wasn't there a minute ago.

"Um, little girl, you shouldn't be there so close to the edge. You might fall." Sayuri said a little nervous for the cute girl's safety.

The little girl merely shrugged, stepped down from the ledge, and started walking towards the three friends. She graced them with another cute smile.

It took approximately three seconds before Sayuri and Yuka was swooning over the girl. They bent in front of her so they were eye leveled with the girl.

"What's your name, little girl?" Yuka asked.

"Naomi."

"What are you doing here, Naomi-chan? Are you lost?" Sayuri asked.

"Naomi's master said Naomi should relax. Master also said Naomi should try make friends." Said the girl cheerfully before staring straight at Akane. "Do you want to be Naomi's friend?"

"Oh, um, sure, Naomi." Akane said a bit uncertainly. Try as she might, she couldn't trace any lies on the girl. She seems sincere enough but it still doesn't explain the fact that she just appeared out of nowhere. Throwing caution to the winds, she bent down to look Naomi in the eye and asked, "Why do you want to be friends with me, Naomi-chan?"

"Because you is like Naomi." The girl said casually.

Just then, the bell rang, signifying that lunch was over.

"Oh geez, we're late for class!" Yuka exclaimed as she frantically cleans up her still open bento along with Sayuri.

"Would you like to come down with us, Naomi-chan?" Akane asked cheerfully to the girl.

"Is okay. Master said Naomi should search for master's companion."

"Okay then. My friends and I are going for some ice cream after school. Want to come with us?" Akane asked again, mainly because she wanted to know what the girl meant when she said that they were the same.

"Sorry but Naomi needs to find master's companion." The girl answered cheerfully.

"Come on, Akane. We're going to be late for English class." Sayuri said as she run into the stairs.

"Yeah, Akane, let's go." Yuka added as she followed Sayuri.

"Okay, I'm coming." Akane said as she turns her attention on them. When she turned back to Naomi, she saw her standing there smiling at her. Smiling back at her one more time, she left.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is a repost and rewrite of my previous story, "Nerima in the Dark", taking away most of the palagrism.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Sailormoon.

CHAPTER 4 

"Well, this is convenient." Ranma-chan said aloud, looking at the sign hanged on the front gate of the Tendo Dojo.

"What do you mean, Ranma?" Kasumi asked, turning to the petite red head just before she entered the gate.

"Well, believe it or not, this is exactly where I was headed today."

"Then it is quite convenient then. Please, would you like to come inside?"

"Sure." Ranma said, following the sweet older girl inside the gate. But as soon as she passed the gate's threshold, he felt a barrier surrounding the entire compound. He wasn't able to see it outside because of the charms that make it invisible. But once inside, he could clearly see the dome-like barrier protecting the entire place. Even though there are a couple of holes on the wards, it was strong enough to repel most supernatural beings of average powers.

"Is something wrong, Ranma?" Kasumi asked when she saw him staring at the walls of the compound.

That brought Ranma-chan back from her intent observations. Turning towards Kasumi, she said, "Um, nothing, Kasumi-san."

"Kasumi, is that you?" Came a voice from inside the house, where an old skinny long black-haired man wearing a dark gray gi appeared behind the front porch. He seems to have just woken up from a nap since his eyes weren't really focused.

"Hello, father. I just came back from grocery shopping."

The old man nodded. And upon seeing Ranma there, he said, "Oh, hello there. I see my daughter had brought a guest. Welcome. I am Soun Tendou, owner of this Dojo." Then he bowed slightly.

"Hello, sir." She said with a slight bow herself. "My name is Ranma Saotome and I came to see you about . . ."

"Did you say Saotome?" Soun asked immediately, cutting her off.

"Um, yes." She answered uncertainly when she saw the intense gaze the old man was directing at her.

"As in Genma Saotome?"

"Uh . . ."

"Of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts?"

Ranma-chan took an involuntary step back from the intense gaze of the man. He had encountered such gazes before, particularly whenever she met someone that had the unfortunate luck of being swindled by her father. "Look, sir, I don't know what my stupid pop stole from you but I,"

Ranma-chan wasn't able to finish her sentence again when the old man suddenly embraced her in a bear hug, crying his heart out, and saying, "Oh! Happy Days! I never thought I'd see the day that my old friend's son would finally come to fulfill his side of the pact!"

"W-what? What are you talking about?" Ranma-chan was getting nervous now. Having his father's old acquaintances attacking her at the first sound of his name is annoying at best, but having someone who knew Genma Saotome that actually is glad about it is totally unreal, scary even. And what family pact is he talking about?

"Father, please calm down. You're frightening her." Kasumi said. She was also quite confused at her father's actions, especially since it has been quite a long time she ever saw him this excited about anything.

"Her?" Soun asked, confused. Why would her daughter use female suffixes to describe Genma's son? It was just then that he felt two mound of soft flesh on his chest. Focussing his eyes, it was just then that he finally noticed what Ranma really looks like.

"Yes, father, Ranma is a girl." Kasumi said again.

"A girl?" Soun shouted in horror, just before passing out.

For a couple of minutes, an awkward silence fell between them as they try to figure out what had just happened.

For Kasumi, she was asking herself what had happened to his father that made him jumped onto her guest like that? She was also a bit startled at seeing her father show other type of emotions rather than depression and sadness? It's been years since she ever saw her father show happiness, although it was only for a couple of seconds, but happiness nonetheless.

For Ranma, he was still a bit freaked out when the old man suddenly glomped him like that. But still, this man knew her father. And the strange part is, he doesn't seem to hate Genma for one reason or another. Who is this old man and what does he knows of Genma? And what is this pact he was talking about?

"Please forgive my father. He doesn't usually acts like this to guests." Kasumi said as soon as she was able to get her bearings back.

"Oh, um, no problem, I guess." Ranma said. "Do you know what he was talking about? About his old friend I mean."

"Sorry but I'm not sure myself. You could ask him later, if you want. It usually takes father a couple of hours for him to wake up from his fainting."

"I think I'll do just that." Ranma said, determined to know more.

"Thank you for the refreshment, Nodoka-san. I hope I didn't bother you too much." Ryouga said after stepping out of the small coffee shop, guided by Nodoka of coarse.

"It was no trouble at all, Ryouga-kun. It's the least I can do after this morning." The auburn haired woman said pleasantly. "Are you sure you don't need any help getting to Shinjuku?"

"Nah. I'm not really in a hurry to go there anyway. My friend and I just arrived from China so I was thinking of site seeing for a while." _And with my sense of direction, I could get us both lost for weeks even if you were leading the way. I can't have a nice woman like you getting an unexpected world tour, _he added mentally. "Anyway, goodbye, ma'am. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"Likewise, Ryouga-kun." She said as she watch the young man depart in the opposite direction of Shinjuku, thinking that Ryouga was going to do some site seeing now. But of coarse, we all know that wasn't the case.

Ryouga had just turned on a corner, disappearing from Nodoka's range of sight when a car drove by a puddle of water right beside him, splashing him with water and activating the curse that turned him into a little black piglet with a yellow and black stripped bandanna, and a Chinese mark of 'Void' on it's forehead.

"Bweeeee!" which translates to 'Darn it! Why does these things always happens to me!'

"AWWW! IT'S SO CUTE!" came a sudden shriek just in front of him. Looking up, he saw a young brown haired girl wearing a school uniform kneeling in front of him.

"Bwee?" 'What the heck?'

The girl suddenly picked up the still confused piglet and hugged him tightly in her arms, not even noticing the wet pile of clothes, bamboo umbrella, and camping bag beside him. "Are you lost Mr. Piggy? Are you someone's pet? I bet you are since you're just too cute not to be one! What's your name? Wait, you can't tell me of coarse. I know! I'll call you P-chan because you're a little pig and just SOOOOO CUTE! Do you wanna be my pet?"

'What the . . . This girl is worse than a diabetic in a sugar high! Ranma, this is all your fault!' he thought. But all it came out was, "Bweeeee! Bwee!", which, unfortunately for him, the girl thought as a yes.

"You will! YAY!" The girl shrieked once more in hyperactive happiness as she smother the little piglet in her arms.

"Kurumi-chan, what have you got there?" came a familiar pleasant voice nearby.

Turning around, both the pig and the little girl saw Nadoka approaching them with a pleasnat smile on her face. The little girl, which is named Kurumi, brightened immediately and bounced towards the woman showing her the little black pig while saying, "Look, Mama! I found the cutest little piglet, his name is P-chan, and he just promised to be my pet!"

"Bwee? Bwee?" 'Nodoka-san? You mean, this girl is the daughter you were talking about?' he squealed as he looked back and fort between the two females.

"Kurumi-chan, you know perfectly well that you can't just take home stray animals from the street. What if he was someone's pet and his owner is frantically looking for him now?" she chided the little girl calmly.

"But, Mama," the girl started to protest with a cute pout but the older woman cut her off.

"No buts, Kurumi-chan." She said calmly but sternly. Then she smiled at her and said, "And if he doesn't have any owner and he still wants to be your pet then I'm sure we'll have enough space in the house for him, okay?"

The girl immediately perked up at the suggestion and nodded. Then, suddenly she said in a more sedate voice, "Um, mama, how come you don't have any flowers for onii-chan yet?" Narrowing her eyes, she asked, "Grandpa's people didn't tried to harass you again, did they?"

In a split second, Ryouga felt the young girl's ki bursting out of her. By the intensity of her aura, she's going to be one hell of a fighter if she ever get trained properly.

"Don't worry, Kurumi-chan. You know very well that I can take care of myself." She said calmly. Then, a smile came to her lips as she added, "Besides, there was this strong, nice young man who was there to helped me."

"Really? Am I going the have a step father soon?" the girl asked innocently.

"BWEEE?" 'WHAT?' The piglet tensed immediately. Fortunately, neither females noticed.

Nodoka just giggled at the girl's question and said, "No, Kurumi-chan. Ryouga-kun just happens to remind me so much of your older brother, that's all."

P-chan immediately relaxed.

"Anyway, we should get going now to visit your brother." Nodoka said with a cheerfulness that had failed to reach her eyes.

Both the young girl and the pig noticed the sadness behind it and Kurumi nodded silently before following the older woman to the flower shop a few blocks away to buy some fresh orchids.

Ryouga doesn't really know where they were going but both women were radiating enough sadness in their auras to intrigue him. The walk was spent in silence. It didn't take long before they finally reached their destination, the cemetery.

He was wondering what the two women were doing in a place like this, that is until they stopped in front of a certain well cared for grave. The little piglet's eyes almost bulged out from its socket when he saw the name engraved on it.

HERE LIES SAOTOME RANMA

SON AND MARTIAL ARTIST

MAN AMONG MEN

BORN: JULY 7, 1980

DIED: AUGUST 20, 1992

Nodoka placed the flower in front in front of her son's grave and offered a small prayer. Kurumi did the same and soon both women were lost in their own thoughts.

Ryouga examined the grave carefully. By the looks of it, the grave has been kept tidy every week. There was not a smudge of dirt on it anywhere, and the surrounding grass around it is trimmed regularly. If he hadn't seen the date engraved on it, he would have guessed that the tombstone was only placed there a week ago instead of almost five years ago.

_'Ranma, I think I've accidentally found your long lost family.'_ Ryouga thought to himself.

"Konatsu, what's next on the list?" Ukyo asked as she stroll down the market place along with Konatsu.

"I believe we only need to pick out the new chairs and tables for the restaurant. We already have everything else covered."

The two of them have spent the entire afternoon travelling the entire marketplace to find the best deals they could get on materials and supplies for the opening of the new restaurant next week. They have already ordered raw materials to be delivered at the restaurant by next week since the storage room at their building was still getting renovated for use.

They were just about to enter another shop when Ukyo suddenly stiffened.

"What is it, Ukyo-sama?" Konatsu asked in concern.

"There's some demonic presence nearby. Be on your guard, Konatsu." She said her hand touching the handle of her huge battle spatula. Konatsu's hand begun to inch towards inside of his kimono, where his shurikens are hidden.

Suddenly, a black car drove by beside them. For a split second, when the car passed by, Ukyo's eyes were fixed on the big black man in a business suit riding in the front passenger seat. He was radiating enough demonic energy to make the hairs on her back stand on one end. She almost missed the struggling girl with short brown hair in a school uniform struggling on the back of the car being held by another man in a black business suit.

The car was already out of sight before Konatsu said, "I think that girl was being kidnapped, Ukyo-sama."

Ukyo took a deep breath to calm herself before saying in a serious voice, "I know. Konatsu, turn on the tracking beacon on your communicator and follow them. I'll head back to the restaurant to get some weapons. That huge black guy is a youma and that girl could be in real danger."

"Hai, Ukyo-sama." Konatsu said seriously before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

As soon as he was gone, Ukyo turned to run towards the restaurant to arm herself for the coming battle.

Nabiki saw the car entering an old abandoned warehouse. She knows whoever it was who hired these people to kidnap her on her way home from school was either the mob or someone rich enough that she pissed off before, maybe even Kuno. But since she knows despite how insane the kendoist is, doing such things is below for someone of his stature, or mental capability. So it must mean that the Yakuza or other crime organization had finally decided to take over her turf.

She tried to calm herself. She will need all the cunning intelligence of the 'Ice Queen' to come out of this without being rough up a bit and maybe even make a deal with them that makes sure that they would spend most of their time away from Nerima.

As soon as the car stopped in the middle of the warehouse, where another expensive looking sports car was already parked, the suited men dragged her out of the car. At the same time, a man wearing an expensive white suit with a blue shirt underneath and wearing several gold jewelry, stepped out of the sports. Nabiki noticed that the man was sporting a few bruises on his face and seems quite annoyed at being here.

"Tendo Nabiki, I presume?" The man asked in bored tone of voice as he stares at her up and down, as if sizing her up like a piece of old meat. And that _just_ pissed her off.

Using her Ice Queen facade, she used her great observation skills to come up with a viable analysis of the man. "Let me guess, you 'invited' me here to either scare me into buying 'protection' from you or demand I turn over my business to you."

"I see you are smart girl, Tendo Nabiki. And I must say the pictures on your files don't do you much justice." He said as he leered at her body once again.

Internally, Nabiki shivered at the lecherous look the guy was giving her. But none of it showed through her Ice Queen mask. Showing fear in front of them is not an advantage she wants them to have over her.

The man frowned a bit at the lack of response from the girl. Then, he grinned and said, "My name is Oda Himura of the Himura Clan."

Externally, Nabiki didn't even seem affected at the declaration, but inside, her mind was running at speeds she never thought possible. The Himura Clan was one of the most wealthy and powerful families in Japan. Since the end of the Meiji Restoration Era, they were considered as the most respected clan in the city. But just twenty years ago, the clan suddenly started getting into crime and soon became very powerful in the world of organized crime. They literally own half the city and have full or partial control on almost every illegal establishment on Tokyo as well as the nearby cities.

But then, if this guy was a direct member of the family, then why is he here doing simply muscle work? Coming up with several unlikely theories, she came up with the most possible explanation. Thinking about it, it does make a bit of sense. He does seem annoyed when she first saw him so it must mean that he was forced into doing this, which also means that he isn't that up on the clan politics. If she plays her cards right, then she might be able to come out on top after all.

Giving Oda her patented Ice Queen smirks, she said, "I must say, Mr. Himura, I'm flattered at the attention a local business woman as myself is getting from someone as high up in the Himura Clan as you." When she saw him leering at her again, she added in a cool yet venomous voice, "Either you see potential in my talents or you're not as high up in the clan as you think you are."

For a moment, Oda's face contorted with rage. The girl had hit a sore spot on him. Nabiki knew that aggravating this man was quite dangerous, but she can't let him think that she would be intimidated so easily or else they would see it as a weakness and use it against her.

Then, in a cold emotionless business-like voice, she said, "You are a businessman, are you not, Mr. Himura? Then I suggest we make a deal already. Time, after all, is money. And the more time we waste, the less money I earn."

For a moment, Oda didn't said a word. Then finally, he said while looking at the girl with the most menacing look he could give her, he said, "You are right of coarse, Miss Tendo. But then again, I'm sure there would be enough time later to talk business." He leered at her once more as he cupped her chin with two fingers before saying, "I think we should first have a little fun with each other to celebrate such a merging of interests."

Nabiki was revolted beyond belief. She can handle being leered at, but having this man touch her and suggest something like _that_, she just lost control. Before she could reprimand herself, her foot lashed out and kicked the perverted guy in the groin with all her might. She felt quite a bit of satisfaction seeing Oda fell on the floor in a fetal position while holding his bruised crown jewels. But it lasted only until Oda finally managed to get back up.

The first thing he did was glare menacingly at Nabiki before hitting her face with the back of his hands with enough force to throw her to the ground with a little bit of blood trickling down the side of her face. "YOU FRICKING BITCH! NO ONE, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE DOES THAT TO ME AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!" He said as he took out a gun from his suit.

**BANG! **

A scream broke out when the bullet shot out of the gun. Nabiki had her eyes closed at the time, waiting for the pain of a bullet wound to finally register on her body.

When she didn't felt any pain, and hearing that it wasn't her screaming in pain, she opened her eyes and saw the gun on the floor and a shiny flat object embedded on Oda's bleeding hand.

"W-What the fuck? Kill her! Kill her now!" Oda ordered under pain.

The two men immediately took out their guns from their jackets while Vhan didn't even paid attention. The two men was about to shoot Nabiki when three small black spheres rolled by their feet. The spheres suddenly exploded and the entire place was covered in thick smoke.

Inside the smoke, several gun shots were heard as well as the sound of flesh hitting flesh accompanied by a short feminine scream. When the smoke cleared, Oda saw that the girl was gone and his two bodyguards were on the floor, unconscious. Vhan has his fist stretched and was looking at something. When Oda turned to look, he saw a feminine looking person in a ninja outfit holding Nabiki on one arm while the other arm was hanging uselessly by its side. By the looks of it, the other arm seems to have been dislocated.

It may not look like it but inside, Konatsu was seething. After his smoke bomb ignited, he was able to get the girl out of the way before rendering the two goons unconscious with several well-placed strikes. But he underestimated the ability of the youma disguised as a black man and was hit by a single punch on the shoulder while he was trying to run away.

"Who the fuck are you?" Oda managed to shout after getting his bearings back.

Instead of answering, Konatsu tried to run away. But Vhan suddenly appeared in front of him with such blinding speed. The kunoichi barely managed to avoid the strike, which had punched through the concrete wall. Vhan attacked once more, forcing Konatsu in an evasive action. With the girl on one arm and his other arm useless, his offense was almost nil.

"Darn it! This youma is stronger than I thought." Konatsu said between breathes.

_'Youma?'_ Nabiki thought. If the black man was really a youma, then she knows she could do something to even out the odds. Up until now, she felt totally useless being a burden for her unknown savior. But since they were dealing with the supernatural, she knew she could do something.

Taking out a spirit ward from inside her pocket, Nabiki waited for the perfect moment to use it. When Vhan tried to strike her and the ninja once again, Nabiki threw the placed the spirit ward on the monster's outstretched arm, concentrated as much power as she can on the spirit ward, and shouted to her savior, "Get back! NOW!"

Konatsu, seeing the urgency on the girl's voice, immediately sprang back a couple of feet, barely missing the thousands of volts of electricity shooting out from the spirit ward when it was activated, making the huge beast writ in pain.

After a couple of seconds later, the spirit ward finally burned out, leaving the monster's entire body charred. Seeing this, Oda immediately left the scene as fast as he could.

The monster suddenly roared in fury, tearing off the burned clothes as well as skin off its body, which was replaced by red scaly skin underneath and red slit eyes. Both Konatsu and Nabiki knew that they won't be able to escape alive, not with the ninja injured from the first attack, the girl exhausted from powering up the spirit ward, and this monster standing in their way.

Konatsu knows that he at least could escape if he left the girl behind. But he knows his mistress would be very disappointed in him if he abandon her for this beast. Resolving what he must do, he stepped in front of Nabiki and said to the girl, "Try to run while I distract it."

"I can't." Nabiki said between breaths. "I used up too much on that spirit ward earlier."

"Darn." Konatsu swore softly as he took out several small spatulas out of his belt pockets and prepared to defend himself and the girl behind him.

The beast roared once more and was just getting ready to pounce the two when, a sphere of light came out of nowhere and hit the beast's stomach, where it was absorbed. A second later, the beast's belly exploded in a rain of bits and gore. Despite the big hole on it's belly, the monster turned around to attack once more, but another sphere of light on the head killed it instantly.

Nabiki, seeing that she was finally safe for the moment, succumbed to the call of unconsciousness, but not before hearing the ninja say in a grateful voice, "Ukyo-sama."

Then, Nabiki's world turned black.


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN Ranma ½ or Sailormoon 

Note: This is a remake of my original story Nerima in the Dark

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 5 

'Where am I?' Nabiki thought as she sat up from the couch she was laying on. Looking around the place, she saw that she was alone in someone's living room, with several cardboard boxes scattered around. By the looks of it, whoever owns this place must have just recently moved in and haven't had enough time to place all his or her stuff. Looking out the window behind her, she saw that it was almost past dawn. If her estimates were correct, which they usually are, then she must have been unconscious for at most two hours.

She was just about to get up when the door to the other side of the room opened and an old man wearing a lab coat entered casually. He was also holding a tray of tea with him. "Oh, I see you're awake."

For a moment, Nabiki merely stare at the old man as he set the tray down on top of one of the boxes there. Then she asked the first question that came to her head, which was, "What happened?"

"My ward and her friend brought you here after that youma incident. At least, that is what my ward tells me."

At the mention of a youma, Nabiki's mind immediately recalled all that had happened barely a few hours ago, getting kidnapped, almost getting raped and killed, and using a lightning ofuda, or spirit ward as they call it, against a youma. No wonder she felt weak. "Where is she now, the ninja that saved me I mean."

"Oh, Konatsu. He's in his room at the moment, resting his shoulder."

"He?" she asked in genuine confusion.

The old man chuckled a bit before answering, "Yes. He. Despite his feminine look, Konatsu is a boy. Let's just say his stepfamily has a very twisted sense of humor. Would you like to meet him anyway?"

For a moment, Nabiki hesitated. Of what she remembers of the ninja, the said ninja looked and moved like a girl. Then, she said, "Yes, please."

The old man nodded and walked towards the door, followed by the girl, who asked the question, "Where are we?"

"We're still in Nerima, a couple of blocks from your school. We're on the second floor of a Ucchan's Okinomiyaki Restaurant."

As they walked by the corridor, she noticed a lot of thick electrical wires all over the place. Some of which are already clamped securely on the ceiling while others were still sprawled out on the floor. Most wires were connected to a single room on the end of the corridor. The door was slightly opened so she was able to see quite a lot of computers and electronic equipment. There are also several odd looking gadgets assembly on the shelves there, most of which, she noticed, were shaped like weapons of some sort. "Must be some restaurant to have the need for these electronic stuffs."

The doctor sweated a bit as he answered in a not so convincing voice, "Yes, well, er, it is the best okinomiyaki you could ever taste. Anyway, here we are." He knock on the door he stopped in front of and a second later, Konatsu in his flowery kimono opened the door with his good arm, his other arm in a sling.

"Dr. Ikamura. Is there anything you need?" Konatsu asked in his still feminine voice.

"Actually, Konatsu, this young girl wished to see you."

"Oh." Konatsu said as she finally noticed Nabiki standing there. "Please, come in."

"I have some things to do downstairs so I'll leave you two alone." The doctor said as he immediately left.

Nabiki, upon entering the room, noticed that it was almost barren. There was no decorations of any sorts. Not even a picture frame. Only a small table to the left, a shelf full of books, and an unrolled futon on the floor.

"Are you all right now, miss? That was a rather nasty experience there at the warehouse."

Instead of answering, Nabiki formally bowed down low and said, "Thank you for saving me."

Konatsu, not used at recieving gratitude except from his mistress, blushed a bit and said, "It's, um, alright. My mistress had ordered me to go after you so I have no choice but to obey even if I didn't want to."

"Don't listen to him, sugar." Came a voice behind them. Turning around, they saw a feminine looking boy with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and was wearing a school attire leaning by the door frame and smirking at them. The boy turned to Nabiki and said, "Konatsu here really like to sell himself short. He wouldn't have left you there even if I ordered him to. He's just too modest to admit it." The boy then turned to the ninja and said, "And you, stop trying to sell yourself short. You did a good job today."

"H-hai, Ukyo-sama." The ninja said.

Nabiki didn't failed to noticed the admiration in the ninja's eyes, as well as a slight blush on his face when Ukyo complimented him. Ukyo, on the other hand, missed it completely. Then she noticed something different about Ukyo that she didn't realize a second ago. Taking a risk, Nabiki said in an emotionless tone, "You're a girl."

For a moment, the other occupants in the room just stared at her in mild surprised. Then, Ukyo grinned at her and nodded before saying, "That's new. You're the first one to guess my gender when I'm dressed like this. Yes, I am a girl."

"I'm Tendo Nabiki, and I'm a very observant person." Nabiki smirked.

"I'm sure you are, sugar." Ukyo smirked back. "Now let's get you home. You're family must be worried sick by now."

Nabiki nodded and gave another thank you to Konatsu before following the other girl out.

Minutes later, and the two found themselves walking silently besides each other on the street heading for the Tendo Dojo. Until Nabiki finally decided to break the silence by saying offhandedly, "So, you're on the restaurant business?"

"Yeah. Best okinomiyaki in Japan." Ukyo said with a bit of pride in her voice.

"Must be some great tasting okinomiyaki to need all those weapons and electronic stuffs."

"What makes you say those stuff were weapons?" The chef asked with genuine curiosity.

"I saw you holding one before passing out at the warehouse."

Ukyo chuckled before saying in an amused tone, "My, my, sugar. You're definitely sharper than you look. So, what theories did you come up with?"

For a moment, Nabiki was thinking of lying to the other girl, but considering that she and her ninja had saved her life earlier, she decided against it and gamble. "You're either a group of demon hunters trying to make a name for themselves or you're a government sanctioned group trained to do this."

"Close, but not quite. We are not sanctioned by any government factions. This is the professor's personal vendetta. I just got drafted along while on my own personal quest a couple of years ago. Konatsu came by later."

"So, you're demon hunters then?" Nabiki asked coolly. But inside, she felt a sudden dread for her family that aint quite human anymore.

"Yup. Until such time the professor finds that one demon he's pinning for." Ukyo said casually.

"You're quite open about this stuff." Nabiki said with a frown.

Ukyo smirked at her as she said, "It doesn't really matter if you spread the word around. It would just make my job a lot easier if people knew who to call if they ever got into situations involving the supernatural."

There was another round of silence. Nabiki was deep in thought. She doesn't have enough knowledge on these people to be sure that they wouldn't kill her younger sister if they ever found out about her demonic traits.

"Care to tell me any distinguishing characteristics about this entity the old man is searching for?" Nabiki asked not only for her own curiosity but also for her sister. If she could persuade them that not all demons, particularly half demons, are evil, then she could persuade them to leave Akane alone.

Ukyo sighed and said in a somber tone, "That there lies the problem. The professor have no idea who exactly the demon that he wants dead. So were eliminating every demon we could find."

"Sounds like a rather crude way of searching if you ask me."

"I know. But the old man has a very valid reason. Me, I just find it quite helpful as a training regiment for my own personal quest."

"So you wouldn't mind if I spread the word that there are demon hunters in town?"

"Go right ahead. Maybe you could even spread the word about my restaurant."

"Sure, why not. I may not even require a payment for this one time." Nabiki said casually.

The okinomiyaki chef eyed the other girl for a moment and said, "You seem nonchalant about all this, considering the stuff you went through this afternoon."

"Let's just say I'm more open minded about this stuff than other people."

"Is that why you were carrying that ofuda around with you?"

"You could say that." She answered vaguely as she saw the gates to the Tendo Dojo up ahead. "Well, this is my stop. Thank you again for saving my life. As well as Konatsu. Please tell him I'm very grateful." She vowed deeply once more.

"I'll make sure he gets it. Goodbye Miss Tendo Nabiki. See you around." Ukyo said before leaving.

Nabiki watched the other girl until she was out of sight before entering the house. "I'm home." Passing through the living room, she saw her father sleeping on the couch. When she came into the kitchen, she saw her eldest sister cutting vegetables.

"Oh, hello, Nabiki. How was your day?" Kasumi asked as pleasant as ever without pausing from her work.

For a moment, Nabiki was contemplating telling her older sister everything that happened to her this afternoon. But she thought better than to have her sister worry about her more.

"It was okay." She said casually as she took out the cookie jar from the shelf and took a piece. "When will be dinner ready?"

"About half an hour." She said as she stirred the soup cooking on the stove.

"Okay. I'll go wash up." She then went upstairs, leaving Kasumi busy with the food.

Nabiki was already gone when a stray thought came to Kasumi and she said to herself, "Hmm, I forgot to tell her about Ranma-chan."

She was just about to go after her younger sister when the phone rang. Picking it up, she said to the other end, "Hello, Tendo residence . . . Oh, hello, Akane . . . Yes, alright . . . Have fun sleeping over with your friends, okay . . . Bye, Akane."

Putting the receiver back on the phone, she went back to the kitchen forgetting about Nabiki and Ranma-chan all together.

Nephrite came out of the elevator when it stopped at the 60th floor of the Himura Tower. He walked confidently at the dimly lit hallway towards the large double doors at the end, where Jadeite, Kuznite, and Zoite were already waiting for him. He gave then a simple nod in acknowledgement, which they returned in kind. Then, all four waited until the big doors opened up by themselves. Upon entering, instead of an office, they found themselves in a huge throne room of some kind. In the throne itself was a beautiful woman in black swirling robes.

As one, they went down on their knees showing proper respect and said, "My Queen."

"Rise, my Dark Generals." The queen said in an emotionless voice. "What news have you brought me?"

Nephrite decided to volunteer to be first and said, "Queen Beryl, Youma rebirths are almost one hundred percent complete. All we need to bring them to life are Negaverse energy and they would be ready to do your bidding."

Jadeite was next as he stood up and said, "Our scouts have already picked out Juuban and Nerima District to have the most amount of people that has quite a high rate of life force on them."

Kuznite was next and he said, "Training of the recruited humans have been quite successful so far, my Queen, including the Musk people. They will be able and ready to handle any troubles that may arise from any outside factors."

Then, Zoenite said, "All possible threat inside the Himura Clan had been dealt with, my Queen. No one suspects that we are just using this human clan as a cover up for our other operations. Even the local Yakuza would not dare tangle with us."

"Very good, my generals. I am please. And what of the senshi?"

"I have taken the liberty of letting loose several low level youma around here and several cities to plush them out but no senshi was reported to be seen on any of them." Kuznite said.

"I see. So it either means that they haven't managed to get resurrected yet or they are just buying their time to show themselves." Queen Beryl said mostly to herself. Then she turned towards the generals and said, "Proceed with Operation Life Drain as soon as all preparations are complete. Meanwhile, I will resume my disguised as the head of the Himura Clan's 2nd wife."

"Yes, Queen Beryl." All four answered as one before they disappeared in a flash of purple light.

As soon as they were gone, Queen Beryl transformed her gown into an elegantly crafted black kimono and the entire throne room shimmered out to be replaced by a huge office. She then walked towards one of the door to the right and entered it. Inside she saw a respectful looking old man sleeping soundlessly on a hospital bed strapped with several life support gadgets on him.

The man is known as Shiro Himura, head of the Himura Clan, which was once a very respected clan in Japan, that is until Queen Beryl lured Shiro into marriage and took over everything.

She put her hand on his forehead, as if trying to get his temperature, but in truth, she was renewing the spell she had cast on him to put him on endless sleep. It wouldn't do good for her to have him wake up and ruin her long time plan to resurrect Metalia. She could almost see his spirit struggling to fight her powers. She admits that Shiro Himura is very strong for a human, but he was still powerless to do anything about it.

"Do not worry, dear." She said to his sleeping form. "Very soon my plan will bear fruit and your usefulness would be at its end. When that time comes, you will die by my hands."

--------------

'_How did he know my father? Did pops stole something from him before? No, the old man seems too happy about hearing from pops. He mentioned something about him being my pops' training partner. Maybe that's just what he is. But what about that pact he was talking about? And why do I get the feeling that whatever it is he was talking about could not be good for me?'_ These have been the thoughts on Ranma's mind as he, in his male form, soak comfortably on the furo of the Tendo residence. Kasumi was nice enough to allow him to use it while he waits for old man Tendo to wake up from his fainting spell earlier.

He decided, that once old man Tendo wakes up, he'll demand answers immediately. If he does know his pops, then maybe, just maybe, the old man could tell him where his mother's grave is located, or even if he has any other relatives somewhere.

With his mind made up, he stepped out of the furo in all his naked glory when the inner door suddenly opened and a totally naked girl came in saying, "Hey, Akane, mind if we share a . . ."

The girl's voice died on her lips upon seeing a naked guy inside their furo. By the looks on her face, she was quite shock when the person in there isn't who she thought it would be. For several seconds, neither of them could say or do anything. They just stood there staring silently at each other in complete shock.

After an entire minute of silence, the girl slowly stepped back and closed the inner door in silence, leaving the still dumbfounded boy inside.

It took a couple of more seconds before Ranma was able to say, "Well, that was strange. No scream."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

Ranma, hearing the loud screech, slap himself in the forehead and said dejectedly, "I just _had_ to jinks it, don't I?"

-------------------

"Oh my, Nabiki, what seems to be the problem?" Kasumi asked calmly when her youngest sister, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, run straight into the dining room and grabbed the phone and started dialing furiously.

"Calling the police! There is a perverted boy in our bathroom and I want him arrested!"

"A boy? I don't remember sending any boy to the bathroom earlier. Just Ranma-chan. And she's a girl. Are you sure it was a boy you saw?"

"Kasumi, I know what a boy looks like, okay! And that pervert upstairs is definitely a boy!" She blushed furiously at the thought that it was definitely a boy up there before her face contorted in rage once more. "Normally, I would handle this myself. But I just had the roughest day in my life and I don't like ending it with killing some perverted boy in our bathroom." She was just about finished dialing up the police number so she could get someone arrested when a definite male voice was heard.

"Please allow me to explain." When both sisters turned, they were shocked speechless when they saw a young man about Akane's age standing by the foot of the stairs wearing a red Chinese silk shirt and black baggy pants. His raven black hair was still wet, excess water dripping down his muscular shoulders. He looked at them with a resigned look on his deep blue eyes as he said in an apologetic voice, "I'm Saotome Ranma. Sorry about this."

Both sisters gasped and said the first thing that came into their minds. "Oh my."

----------------------

"So, what do you guys want to do now?" Akane asked as soon as she got back from the phone booth. Her friends, Sayuri and Yuka, had been waiting patiently for her in front of the ice cream parlor before all three of them went in.

"How about after ice cream, we all go to my house and test my comlink?" Sayuri said as she sat down on one of the empty seats inside the shop followed by her friends.

Akane groaned at the mention of that darn comlink. Yuka, being such a gadget freak that she is, made a communication device using an old hearing aid and several parts of a broken radio. She may not look like it but Sayuri is one hell of a wiz when it comes to fixing and making tiny electronic gadgets using spare parts. "I told you guys that I am not putting that thing anywhere near my ear. I mean, it WAS your grandmother's. I mean, Ewwww!"

"Hey, my grandma aint that bad!" Sayuri said in defense, but immediately deplated at her half-demon friend's glare. "Okay, so maybe she is. But it wasn't her fault she had that ear infection."

"Sayuri, that's not helping." Yuka said at her friend, shivering slightly at remembering that one time when Sayuri's grandmother was cleaning her hearing aid with a gallon of alcohol, seven packs of cotton, and a steel brush. It wasn't pretty, especially when she had asked all three of them for help to clean it. It was worse than one of Akane's more colorful tries in making dinner.

"Well, anyway, I still don't see why she couldn't just use it. I mean, you saw me and Yuka disinfect that thing before I even started messing with it." Sayuri added in her defense.

"Yes, using two bottles of acid and a twelve hour boil bath." Akane said sarcastically.

"See!" Sayuri said proudly.

This time, both of her friends groaned. Then, Yuka said, "Sayuri, that is still not helping." She then turned towards Akane and said, "I think you should really try it, Akane. Sayuri really did work her ass off on it. Besides, you wouldn't really disregard all our hard work, would you?"

Akane really hated her friends at the moment. Not only did they used the 'guilt trick' on her, but they also used the 'puppy dog pout' on her. Those two could be quite devious when they wanted to be.

After several minutes of contemplation, Akane finally gave a sigh of relief and said, "Fine, fine. I'll use it tonight."

"YAY!" Her friends cheered.

"Anyway, why do you want me to test it so soon, anyway? I thought you're still having problems with the satellite tracking system?" she asked Yuka, the computer wiz of the group. She may not look like it but Yuka is one of the best computer hackers in Japan.

"Already fixed." Yuka said proudly before leaning in to whisper, "There was a problem with hacking through Tokyo Cable Company's main frame so I had to find another satellite to use."

"Really? Whose satellite did you used?"

"The JSDF."

Akane almost face faulted at that. Leave it to Yuka to hack through Japan's Self Defense Force's computer main frame so she could use their highly expensive satellite to keep track of Akane's nightly adventures in secret.

Despite everything, Akane can't help but smile at it all. There's Sayuri, the engineering wiz, then there's Yuka, the computer hacker, and then there's Akane herself, the half demon. All three with lives outside the norm, and all three of them best of friends.

For a moment, Akane felt completely content. That is, until Yuka said in a scolding voice, "With all of this, maybe we could get you to think before blowing off another cute guy who wants to have a conversation with you."

"Yeah!" Sayuri agreed enthusiastically.

And with that, Akane actually face faulted. She should have known better.

-----------------------

"So, let me get this straight," Soun said in a very serious tone as he stare at the young pig tailed boy sitting in front of him across the dining room table. Beside him are his daughters, one of which has a look of calm confusion, and the other with a cool look of indifference. "You are really a boy cursed to transform into a girl with the application of cold water? And to regain your birth form, you only needed to splashed with warm water? And this cursed originated from Jusenkyo, a mystical valley of cursed pools in the Byakalan Mountain in Quingha Province in China? And that, as of the moment, there is no known cure for your curse?"

"Not until for the next couple of years, according to the Jusenkyo guide." Ranma said in a sheepish voice. The stare the old man was giving him was sending chills down the root of his spine. It was if he was being put on observation under a microscope.

"And why is that?" Nabiki chipped in with a voice of indifference, but genuinely curious nonetheless.

Ranma was about to answer when Soun cut him off and said, "Nevermind that, Nabiki. I'm sure there are valid reasons." Then he turned towards Ranma with an expectant smile that sent shivers down Ranma's spine. "Tell me, boy, are you really Saotome Ranma, son of Sotome Genma, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts?"

"Um, yes." Ranma answered cautiously. For a moment, nothing happened. That is, until he found himself in a tight bear hug from the weeping old man.

"OH HAPPY DAYS! THE SCHOOLS WILL FINALLY BE JOINED!"

Soun would have said more but Ranma, totally creep out by the close contact, gave the old man a punch on the face and pushed him off as he shouted, "WOULD YOU QUIT DOING THAT!"

It took several seconds for Soun to compose himself. He once again turned back towards Ranma as if nothing has happened. "Anyway, my boy, how is my old training partner Genma doing?"

Ranma knew this topic would come up eventually but he can't help but shift uncomfortably as he said in a meek voice, "Dead, sir. He died five years ago in a fire while we were in China."

"Oh, I see." He was silent for a few seconds, contemplating the answer the young man deeply. Of coarse, it didn't last long. "WWWWWHHHHHAAAA! MY GOOD FRIEND GENMA IS DEAD! HE WAS SUCH A GOOD MAN TO LEAVE THIS WORLD SO EARLY IN LIFE! WWWWWHHHHHHAAAAA!"

"Is he always like this?" Ranma asked the Tendo sisters with a huge sweat drop on the back of his head.

Nabiki merely disregard his question and stared at her father with an annoyed frown.

Fortunately for him, Kasumi was too polite not to answer. "Yes, pretty much so, ever since mother died."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's all right, Ranma-kun. Mother has been gone for quit a while now. Almost ten years, in fact. Father was just very devoted to her." Kasumi said pleasantly.

"Oh, I see." Ranma said looking back at the still wailing old man before turning towards the Tendo sisters. "Anyway, do either of you know anything about this joining-of-schools he's talking about?"

"Nope. But I'm sure dad would explain everything." Nabiki said before turning a glare at her father. "Isn't that right, daddy?"

Feeling the silent threat in his daughter's voice, Soun immediately went sober and said to the pigtailed boy, "Well, you see, my boy, before either Genma and me settled down with our own families, we made a pact of honor that would ensure the continuation of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts for the next generation."

At his sullen words, all others in the room felt a shiver ran down their spine telling them that whatever this pact is, it could only mean trouble for them.

"And how do you plan on doing that, daddy?" Nabiki drawled.

"Through marriage of coarse!" Soun answered cheerfully, oblivious to the glare shot at him from two people in front of him and a blushing "Oh my!" from the third.

"You're kidding, right?" Ranma asked, feeling quite murderous as Nabiki at the moment.

"Of coarse not! This agreement had been made even before any of you were even born. It's a matter of honor!"

Ranma was just about to contemplate murder on this poor sod of a man when the jibe about his honor finally set on him. All his life, Ranma Saotome didn't have much. The things he owned he protected and valued as much as his life. And the one thing he valued most of all is his sense of honor.

"Honestly, _daddy_." Nabiki said, spitting the name like a vile drink. "Arrange-marriage are so out of date. This isn't exactly like in your time where you can expect kids to do as they're told."

"Really, father." Kasumi added in a scolding voice.

"Now, now, girls. I know this is sudden but I'm just looking out for my daughters. And this agreement has the approval of your dear mother."

That startled both girls enough to gasped. It is one thing to disobey one of their father's foolish schemes but having such schemes approved by their dearly departed mother is another. Both girls cherishes their mother's memory even in her death. Neither one is willing to disregard something that Kimiko Tendo approves for them.

Ranma didn't fail to notice the reactions on both girls when the talk of their mother came out. He knew what both of them were thinking at the moment or the choice they were contemplating. It was either go through with the engagement or defy their father, and indirectly, their mother's wishes as well. He knows how hard a choice that could be. He was contemplating the same thoughts right now; a strain on his honor or being married to someone he hardly knew.

Seeing that he, as well as the girls, would need time to think about all of this, Ranma decided to abruptly stand up and said in a neutral voice, "I'm sorry Mr. Tendo but I think it's time for me to leave."

"What? You can't! You have an obligation to fulfill! It's a matter of family honor!" He wailed.

Ranma flinched. He wasn't sure if it was because of another jibe at his honor or the old man grabbing to his legs like a barnacle. "Look, Mr. Tendo, I need time to think about this. I'm not saying I'm agreeing to the idea of having my wife chosen without my consent, and by the looks of it, neither are your daughters. But that doesn't mean I'll let this thing be a stain on my honor if I can help it."

"B-but the schools," The old man stuttered but was immediately cut off when Ranma snarled.

"I SAID I need time to think about it!" The pigtailed boy gave him the most menacing glare he could throw at the now quivering man hiding behind his oldest daughter. When he saw the Tendo patriarch wouldn't be interrupting him with his stupidity anymore, he turned an apologetic look at the two Tendo daughters and said softly, "I'm sorry about this. If you don't mind, I'll be back in a few days to settle this matter."

Receiving a small nod from Kasumi, Ranma walked out of the house and into the night. He had a lot of things to think about.


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN Ranma ½ or Sailormoon 

Note: This is a remake of my original story Nerima in the Dark

Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 6**

Ryoga was mesmerized as he watches both combatants face off against each other. Nodoka, with her bokken, parries each one of Kurumi's bo staff with such efficiency that it seems that the swordswoman has an energy barrier surrounding her from all sides. None of the younger girl's lightning fast strikes don't even seems to come close in penetrating Nodoka's defense.

He must admit that when he was taken as a pet by the Saotomes three days ago, he had already suspected both Nodoka and Kurumi to have some skills. He never realized how an understatement that is when he first saw them sparring in the backyard of the Saotome home. If his observations are correct, he estimate Nodoka's skill with the sword to be at least master level, while Kurumi's weapon and hand to hand skill to be about 2nd Dan, which isn't so bad considering her age.

He knows that he should have left the Saotomes long ago but circumstances beyond his control prevent him from doing so. In other words, he keeps getting lost trying to find his way out of the house. The one time he actually found his way in his entire stay here was two nights ago when he went to find the bathroom so he could change back into a man. After three hours of getting lost inside the house as a pig, he finally found the bathroom, only to see Mrs. Saotome walking out of the furo totally nude. Of coarse, being him, he passed out due to loss of blood, from the nose. Even though it was an accident, he hated himself for being a peeping tom to such a sweet lady like Nodoka, even if she does have a body most women her age would literally kill for. From then on, he decided he would find his way out of the house BEFORE turning himself back into a man.

He was interrupted from his musing when he saw Kurumi finally managed to penetrate Nodoka's defense. The young girl's grin was evident seeing the other end of her staff merely a few inches from the woman's face. The only thing that keeping it there was the butt of bokken's hilt.

Nodoka smiled and said, "Very good, Kurumi. I was expecting you to make a faint on that last strike."

"Thanks, mom!" Kurumi said with a smirk. That is until she saw her mother's smile turned into that oh-so-familiar grin that she hates. "Uh-oh."

Ryoga had to do a double take to make sure of what he was seeing. He knew that grin anywhere. It was the same grin Ranma always sprout whenever he and Ryoga gets into the heat of their sparring, just before he gets his butt kicked by the pigtailed martial artist. 'Whoa! She really IS Ranma's mom!' the piglet thought.

Suddenly, Kurumi found herself in the defensive. She was hard press as her mother's strikes comes incredible close to her. She can't even jump away as she desperately tries to block each sword strikes that are all too fast to dodge.

With one last underhand strike, Kurumi's bo staff went flying into the air and the little girl fell undignified on her butt. "Aw, mom!" Kurumi pouted cutely as she got up while touching her sore behind.

Nodoka went to see if her daughter is all right first before saying in a calm and sweet tone, "You did good today, Kurumi. I wasn't expecting you to penetrate my shield defense so soon. We will begin learning it tomorrow so get plenty of rest tonight."

Kurumi grinned at the praise. It took her a week but she finally penetrated her mother's Shield by the Sword technique. She was told that unless she managed to penetrate it at least once, then her mother would not teach it to her. Her mother said it was one of the more advanced technique of her family's art and it took the older woman a month to penetrate it.

"Okay, mom." She said happily before skipping towards the little black piglet watching from the porch of the house. She picked him up and hugged her tightly to her chest as she squealed happily, "Look, P-chan! I finally did it! We must tell all my friends and celebrate!"

"Not before you take a bath, young lady." Nodoka said good naturedly.

"Okay, mom. Just wait for me here, P-chan. I'll be right back." She then went off into the house after putting P-chan on the porch once more.

Nodoka kept her smile for Kurumi until she was inside the house, at which her smile disappeared to be replaced by sad sigh as she sat on the porch besides the piglet as she stare longingly at the sky.

Ryoga, seeing this, frowned and went to cuddle his snout on the older woman's hand.

"Oh, you really are a smart little thing, are you, P-chan." Nodoka said as she gently picked him up and placed him on her lap. "Don't worry about me, P-chan. I was just thinking of how Ranma would have handled this training if he was alive. Did you know he was already doing katas with his father at the age of two? He was so energetic, just like his sister is now. And I'm pretty sure he would have grown up to be a man among men."

'Yeah, right!' Ryoga snorted internally, thinking about his rival.

"Anyway, I better make some snacks for Kurumi and her friends." She said as she stood up to go into the kitchen, leaving P-chan on the porch.

'Good, she's gone. Now's my chance to escape!' Ryoga thought as he prepares himself to jump over the wall of the Saotome home. Keeping his eyes on the said wall, he bent his tiny pig legs and run. As soon as he was almost at the wall, he jumped with all his worth.

'At last! I'm free! I'm free! I'm . . . in the living room? Agh!' And that is how he ended up inside the Saotome living room, again, although this was the first time he ended up on top of the book shelves. 'Darn it! My life is hell!' he shouted in his mind. He was just about to turn around to jump off the shelves when a framed piece of paper caught his eye. He was a bit close so all he saw was the black handprints at the corner of the paper. Moving back a bit, he started to read, and was shocked.

For a moment, he had an urge to laugh maniacally. But then he remembered his mortality defends solely on his rival's existence. And thinking about Ranma's current condition, he summed it up to two simple words.

'Oh my!'

He doesn't know how long he had stared at that contract but the next thing he knew, he was being drag outside by a hyperactive Kurumi, who barely managed to say, "I'll be going now, mom. Thanks for the lunch!" before leaving.

------------------------

"Where the hell is that girl?" This had been Ranma's mantra as she searched all over the palace. "I can't believe she skipped her studies again! That girl will be the death of me!" She wanted to scream in frustration once more, but she did that already this morning and got a soar throat for it.

Having already checked most of the usual places, Ranma sprinted towards the last place where she knew the princess likes to hide out whenever the princess likes to skip her responsibilities.

Reaching the almost hidden gazebo at the western edge of the palace gardens, she saw a young girl with long blond hair tied in two buns and hanging in two long ponytails, just standing there looking at the bright blue Earth in the sky with a sad serene look on her face.

She was just about to call on her despite the fact that Ranma doesn't really know her name when all of a sudden menacing dark shadows sprouted everywhere surrounding the still girl.

"NO! LOOK OUT, PRINCESS!" Ranma shouted as she desperately tried to run towards the blond girl who doesn't even seems to notice the danger she's in. She just kept staring at the Earth with sadness evident in her bright blue eyes.

But she was too late. Ranma arrived just as the shadows were able to converge on the princess and swallowed the still girl in a sphere of darkness. She tried desperately to attack the dark sphere but to no avail. Her strikes didn't even dent it. Striking it once more, the sphere retaliated by giving off a shockwave so powerful that it flung her halfway across the palace gardens.

Suddenly, she found herself inside a capsule of some kind being observed at the outside by a dark skin woman with long dark green hair wearing a fuku. She knew what being in the capsule means. "No! You can't do this to me! Let me out! I have to get back to my princess! Let me out!" She tried banging on the capsule with all her might to no avail. The capsule was made to last for a long, long, long time for the sole purpose of putting any person inside it into cryogenic hibernation.

The woman shook her head and said sadly, "It's too late now. Everyone else is gone. The queen had sent them forward."

"H-how. . ."

"You have a new mission now, Royal Adviser. And I wish you luck." With that, the inside of the capsule begun to emit a cold mist, thus starting the cryogenic process.

Seconds later, everything went dark.

---------

Ranma gasped as he sat up upon waking up from that dreaded dream, sweat pouring all over from his body. He turned sideways and plopped his feet to the side of the bed. Then he put his forehead on his hands and started a breathing exercise to calm his nerves.

"I should have expected this." He told himself loudly before continuing, "Odd though. It's been a while since I had that kind of dream."

"Is master alright? Is there anything Naomi can do to help master?" came Naomi's voice from the corner of the room.

Ranma turned to see Naomi getting off of the coach she was sleeping at a minute ago and watch her silently as she walk towards his side in all fours. She was in her child form so he wasn't totally creeping out by her. In fact, he found her quite cute. So when she finally reached his side, he pat her on the head, gave her a smile, and said, "Don't worry about me, Naomi. It's just a dream."

Naomi nodded with a smile and started to purr like a cat as she settled herself on her master's lap. First, he was a bit freaked out by the purring but he eventually settled comfortably down and started stroking her head. It was actually kinda therapeutic.

During the several minutes of comfortable silence, Ranma tried to think back on the dream he had. Ever since the Neko Ken training, he sometimes have these weird dreams that eventually turns into nightmares at the end. And all of them involves a palace made of crystal, the Earth in the sky, a blond princess, the death of the said princess in the hands of the dark shadows, and being cryogenically frozen. Each time he wakes up from these dreams, he would always feel the lingering emotions of loss and regret, particularly towards that blond girl who's name he doesn't even seem to remember whenever he wakes up. All he knew is that she was his princess and Ranma had failed her duty to protect her.

They just felt so real. The loss of losing someone so special like his princess was so strong that the emotions would usually linger for at least a few days. And he can't do a damn thing about it.

'Well,' he thought. 'at least it could get my mind off the Tendo agreement for a few days.' Just then, the same thought triggered his mind to his latest dilemma. 'Damn! I just had to jinx it, don't I.'

Taking a deep breath, he tried to review the honor dilemma in his head once more. He knew he couldn't just ignore the agreement since it wouldn't be just his honor that would have a stain but the Tendos as well. He's really not ready for married life as of yet, and by the looks of things before he left that night, neither was Soun's daughters. But the old man seems quite adamant about uniting the schools.

There was also about Soun Tendo that felt wrong to him, like feeling he shouldn't wxist at all. His daughters seem capable enough. Kasumi was quite nice and exerts a powerful white aura, she could be quite a powerful priestess if she ever chose that path.

The middle Tendo girl, Nabiki, seem capable and calculating. And she does have a slight affinity to mystism since the wards he felt surrounding the house was linked to her. That was why he was sure they would be able to handle whatever cursed object in their possession. And besides, cursed objects were the last thing on his mind at the time.

-----------------

Akane irritably sat down at her desk in the classroom when Sayuri and Yuka approached her.

Yuka gave her a wave before saying, "Geez, Akane, you could have taken it a bit easy on the Hentai Horde. I mean, I don't think some of them would be waking up until lunch time."

"Yeah, Akane. And I'm quite sure Kuno-sempai's bokken was supposed to go in there."

Akane merely growled in response. Her friends sighed and tried to console their friend as much as they could.

"Well, at least the Hentai Horde and Kuno won't be bothering you for at least the rest of the day." Yuka said.

"The Hentai Horde at least. We all know how fast Kuno-sempai gets up from abuse." Sayuri added.

Growling one last time, she then turned to her friends and sighed in defeat before saying, "Sorry guys. It's just . . . I really, really hate my dad right now."

"How come?" both girls asked in unison.

She was about to answer when the teacher finally came through the door. "I'll tell you guys at lunch, okay."

Both girls merely nodded and went to their respective seats.

For both girls, waiting for lunch took forever. By the time the lunch bell sounded, Sayuri and Yuka had already been dragging Akane up to their lunch spot at the roof for some privacy.

"Okay, Akane, you've kept us in suspense long enough. Now spill." Yuka prodded as soon as they were alone.

Sighing once more she then said, "My dad got this idea in his head to get me and my sisters engage to this guy that . . ."

"ENGAGE!" Both Yuka and Sayuri blurted in surprise, cutting off Akane's rant effectively.

"Wow! Really?"

"What's his name?"

"Is he cute?"

"How old is he?"

"Was it love at first sight?"

"How far have you gone with him?"

"How good is he in bed?"

The questions keep getting more and more sexually each time. Akane had expected this kind of reaction from her boy-hungry friends, and she wasn't disappointed. She sigh once before saying, "Guys, would you quit it."

"Okay, so tell us when did this happen?" Yuka asked excitedly.

Giving off another sigh of defeat, she said to her over eager friends, "Two days ago. Nabiki told me his name was Saotome. He's the son of my father's old training partner."

"And?" Sayuri asked impatiently.

"And that he said he'll be back in a few days to settle it."

"What else?"

"Well, Kasumi said he himself seems reluctant to go through with it. But you know my father, once he gets something on his head, he won't be easy to dissuade him."

"That's it? There's got to be more." Yuka said.

"There's nothing more unless you can come up with five thousand yen to buy it off Nabiki."

Both Yuka and Sayuri deflated at this. They know perfectly well that getting information from the Ice Queen of Furinkan would cost them a fortune. And they had just blown off their allowance on a few magazines.

"Anyway, Akane, are you planning on going out tonight?" Yuka asked suddenly.

"Yes. I really need to let out some steam."

"Good, because I want to test the range of the tracking device after adding more power to it." Sayuri said.

"Yes, and I also wanted to test the new additional software to the GPS program I made." Yuka added.

"That's fine with me. Maybe I could just stroll around tonight without getting into trouble."

"Yeah, and maybe you could get lucky and see that boy again." Yuka teased.

"Good luck with that!" Sayuri added cheerfully.

Akane just groaned once more.

----------------------------

"This is not possible!" Said Ukyo in disbelief as she stares at the engraving at the tombstone in front of her.

She just couldn't believe that the bane of her existence is dead, both of them.

Genma and Ranma Saotome are now dead. The condition her father had set for her are met and now she could finally go back to her clan as a girl that she really is, not as a boy she was forced to pretend to be.

But why does she feel so empty inside? Is it because she wasn't the one who was able to kill them or is it something else? She knelt down near the tombstone and traced her fingers softly on the name written on it.

**HERE LIES SAOTOME RANMA**

**SON AND MARTIAL ARTIST**

**MAN AMONG MEN**

**BORN: JULY 7, 1980**

**DIED: AUGUST 20, 1992**

"Ran-chan." She wanted to spat out the name but instead her voice sounded so soft in her mouth that it surprised even herself. That didn't sound like someone who held a grudge against someone for ten years. It sounded more like an old friend reminiscing the good old times.

She tried to bring out all her anger out in the open but none seems to be coming fort. But none seems to be coming. After a few minutes trying, she finally gave up, sighed, and started walking away.

She had barely made five steps when she stopped suddenly and said, "You can come out now, Konatsu."

Moments later, Konatsu, in his black ninja garb, dropped from a nearby tree along the tiny cemented road so silently that barely a sound was heard.

Ukyo merely gave him a comprehensive look before walking right pass him. Konatsu followed shortly a few steps behind. Both walked in silence for several minutes until Konatsu broke it and said, "Are you alright, Ukyo-sama?"

For a minute, there was no answer. Several seconds later, Ukyo said in a very subdued voice, "Do you think I wasted all that time searching for them?"

"No, Ukyo-sama." He answered immediately.

"How could you say that? I wasted five years looking for people that were already dead. If I found out about them sooner, I could have returned to my family with my honor in tact. I could have been the girl I always wanted to be, not a son my dad always wanted." She snapped at him, giving the feminine looking ninja a glare.

Konatsu calmly walked towards the distraught girl. He took her hand on his own and said in a soft voice, "Because, Ukyo-sama, if you hadn't wasted all those years traveling all over Japan searching for them, then you wouldn't have found me."

The girl thought about it for a moment, remembering the time she first met the feminine ninja. She wouldn't exactly call it saving him from hell but having those almost demonic-looking step-relatives of him, it came close. She shuddered at the memory of fighting Konatsu ordered by his step mother. If he wasn't having second thoughts during the battle, she knew she would have lost badly. When they say that she had to kill Konatsu because he failed to uphold his duty, she almost killed his relatives on sight. She would have too if she wasn't so heavily wounded from her earlier fight with Konatsu. So instead, since she owns him, she decided to make him her waitress at her restaurant. The rest after that, as she say, is history.

"I guess. Thanks, sugar."

"What would you do now, Ukyo-sama?"

"Help the professor with his own quest, I guess. After that, who knows? Maybe after that I can finally live a normal life." She said before walking towards the exit of the cemetery.

Konatsu merely nodded in reply as he started to follow his mistress.

-------------------

A/N: this chapter is a bit shorter than the rest. Consider it a filler for things to come. Anyway, Thanks to all those that reviewed.

EvilP: No, Ranma is still pretty much human

xtor49: thanks

sadfru: hope this chapter answered ur question

borg rabbit: I don't really know which one it is

JumperPrime: i'll work on my grammars better from now thanks

Jonakhensu: don't worry, it won't take long now before everyone meets up again


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